Department for Transport

Railway Stations

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) staffed, (b) part-time staffed and (c) unstaffed railway stations in each year since 2010.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not hold this information. In respect of staffing levels at stations, the Government believes that railway operators themselves are best placed to determine how they can ensure they are meeting the needs of their passengers. Each operator is required to participate in the Passenger Assist system which allows disabled passengers to book staff assistance when they require it.

Railways: Tickets

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative estimate he has made of the number of open railway station ticket offices now and in 2010.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not hold data on the number of open railway ticket offices. The current list of regulated ticket offices is publicly available from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Past versions of the list may also be available from the RDG.

Railways: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve rural train lines and services in the West Midlands.

Andrew Jones: West Midlands Trains will be introducing a through-service from Nuneaton to Leamington via Coventry and Kenilworth, from May of this year. These will be operated by the class 172 units that are newer and provide more capacity than the existing class 153 that operates on that route. As part of the upgrades to the Nuneaton to Leamington Spa route (known as the “NUCKLE” project), two new stations at Bermuda Park and Ricoh Arena have already been built and are open. The next phase, being taken forward by Coventry City Council, will see a bay platform at Coventry Station constructed as part of the wider station masterplan. This will allow two trains per hour to run between Coventry and Nuneaton. DfT is contributing £5m towards the cost of the bay platform, with the balance from local sources. As part of the Midlands Rail Hub business case, Midlands Connect are working with the Department and local partners to update the business case for enhancing capacity between Leamington and Coventry through the partial re-doubling of the line. The Department expects the business case to be presented in Summer 2019.

European Aviation Safety Agency: Licensing

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many European Aviation Safety Agency Category B maintenance licences were issued by the Civil Aviation Authority in 2018.

Jesse Norman: CategoryDescriptionInitial issuesB1.1Aeroplanes Turbine306B1.2Aeroplanes Piston14B1.3Helicopters Turbine45B1.4Helicopters Piston5B2Avionics129B3Piston-engine non-pressurised aeroplanes of 2 000 kg Maximum Take-off Mass (MTOM) and below140Total 639  An individual can be issued with a licence in multiple categories. The figures therefore represent the number of licences issued and not the number of individual licence holders.

Aviation: Licensing

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2019 to Question 225461 on Aviation: Licensing, how many initial issues were made to women, for each category of licence.

Jesse Norman: Licence TypeInitial issues to female pilotsPrivate155Commercial62Air Transport42

Eurotunnel: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government's financial settlement with Eurotunnel was designated under the category of payments for preparations in the event of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement.

Chris Grayling: The Government’s financial settlement with Eurotunnel is being financially categorised as part of the overall preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Department for Transport: Procurement

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to detail, what risks relating to spending on procurement in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal were identified by external consultants Slaughter and May, Deloitte and Mott MacDonald; and whether legal action from other commercial companies was one of those risks identified.

Chris Grayling: Legal, commercial and operational risks were all assessed as part of the Department’s procurement of additional maritime freight capacity.

NHS: Drugs

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the efficient supply of medicines is covered by the legal settlement between the Government and Eurotunnel.

Chris Grayling: The purpose of the Settlement Agreement with Eurotunnel was to secure the vital freight capacity that Government has purchased with DFDS and Brittany Ferries – enabling the unhindered supply of critical priority goods for the health service into the UK in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Aviation: EU Countries

Henry Smith: What recent progress he has made on ensuring that flight services between the UK and Europe are not disrupted after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Grayling: Flights between the UK and the EU will continue whatever the outcome of EU Exit. In a deal scenario, flights will continue as now during the time-limited Implementation Period. In a no deal scenario, the EU have adopted a regulation which gives UK airlines the right to fly to and from the EU for 12 months, and the UK will reciprocate these rights for EU airlines. We will continue to work closely with the aviation industry.

Shipping: Carbon Emissions

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce carbon emissions from shipping.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK was a leading participant in the April 2018 negotiations that led to the Initial International Maritime Organization Greenhouse Gas Strategy. The UK continues to play a leading role in efforts to address carbon emissions from international shipping. Domestically, we will be launching our Clean Maritime Plan in Spring 2019. This will set out plans to address both greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions from shipping, and will underpin our long-term vision of zero emission shipping.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Public Houses: Closures

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many pubs closed in the 12 months (a) before the business rates revaluation came into force in 2017 and (b) after that revaluation.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government does not hold the requested information.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total value has been of government spending on subsidies for the manufacture and purchase of low emission and electric vehicles in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2018-19.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 18 March 2019



In 2010/11 Government, through the Office of Low Emission Vehicles, spent £7.3m and in 2018/19 is forecast to spend approximately £200m. This is part of Government’s programme of investment, alongside other measures set out in the Road to Zero strategy, to put the UK at the forefront of the transition to zero emission vehicles. In 2018, the UK was the second largest market for ultra low emission vehicles in the EU accounting for nearly 20% of registrations, and 1 in 5 electric cars sold in Europe last year was made in the UK.

Post Office: ICT

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that Post Office Ltd's computer systems are fit for purpose.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The Post Office Limited’s computer systems is an operational matter for the Post Office. I have therefore asked, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Unpaid Work

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his Department's policy to include an assessment of the effect of unpaid work trials on levels of employment as part of the review of the international evidence on the impacts of minimum wages published on 13 March.

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the review of the international evidence on the impacts of minimum wages, published on 13 March 2019, if he will make it his Department's policy to ban unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.

Kelly Tolhurst: The National Living Wage (NLW) has helped to deliver the fastest wage growth for the lowest paid in 20 years, and in April 2019, alongside the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates, will increase above inflation and average earnings. Collectively, over 2.1 million workers will benefit from the minimum wage rates. In Glasgow South, there are an estimated 1,600 workers currently benefiting from the minimum wages.At Spring Statement 2019, the Government announced an important step in its aspiration to end low pay, by appointing Professor Arindrajit Dube to undertake a review of the latest international evidence on minimum wages. The review will be considering the implications of this international evidence for UK minimum wage policy.The Government is clear that National Minimum Wage legislation already protects workers by proscribing unpaid work trials that are excessive and not part of a genuine recruitment process. The Government published new guidance in December 2018 that clarifies the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers.

Energy: Finance

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the timetable for Ofgem's Targeted Charging review on (a) investment and (b) innovation in (i) onsite flexible generation and (ii) a future flexible energy system.

Claire Perry: Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review is seeking to ensure all parties connected to the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs. As was outlined in the ‘After the Trilemma’ speech of 15 November 2018, it is important that we develop an energy system that discourages free riding and ensures a fair distribution of such costs. Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator, and decisions on its Targeted Charging Review are for it to make. However, Government is working to understand the policy implications of Ofgem’s review proposals across a broad range of interests. The analysis which Ofgem has published as part of its recently closed consultation shows that the proposals could affect investment decisions across a number of technologies, but no final decisions have been taken on timetable or other aspects.

Domestic Appliances: Hydrogen

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the development and innovation of UK-produced domestic appliances that use hydrogen.

Claire Perry: The Department is currently undertaking a £25 million project to explore the option of using hydrogen gas for heating UK homes and businesses. This work includes supporting the development of domestic boilers, fires, cookers and other innovative appliances that use hydrogen. BEIS has awarded 16 contracts as part of this development process which is scheduled to complete by March 2021.

Natural Gas: Hydrogen

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the progress of the (a) HyDeploy project and (b) potential benefits of blending hydrogen with natural gas for supply into the domestic gas grid.

Claire Perry: HyDeploy is funded under Ofgem’s Gas Network Innovation Competition and is being delivered by the HyDeploy consortium, led by Cadent and Northern Gas Networks. However, officials are following the progress of the project closely. The Government considers that the use of hydrogen, including through blending, has the potential to contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of heating and welcomes projects such as HyDeploy which further develop evidence on the technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness of such options.

Climate Change: Antarctic

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of reports from the British Antarctic Survey on the effect of climate change on Antarctic ice sheets; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The evidence gathered by the British Antarctic Survey shows significant changes in the Antarctic ice sheet that have occurred due to human-induced climate change, and natural phenomena, over recent years. Reports produced by the British Antarctic Survey form an important contribution to reports produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Antarctic ice sheet contribution to sea level rise has been growing in recent years and represents a significant fraction of the total. The recent IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C states that instabilities exist for the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, which could result in multi-metre rises in sea level over timescales of centuries to millennia. According to the IPCC there is “medium confidence” that these instabilities could be triggered at around 1.5°C to 2°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. Satellite observations show that since 2002, the Antarctic ice sheet has been losing 127 billion tonnes of mass per year, and that the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report states that the average rate of ice loss from the Antarctic ice sheet has likely increased from 30 gigatonnes per year over the period 1992-2001, to 147 gigatonnes per year over the period 2002 to 2011. These findings emphasise the importance of international collaborative research, such as the £20 million UK-US International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration in Antarctica, to understand its ice sheet stability and potential impacts on future global sea-level rise. The IPCC will publish a Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate later this year, which will include an up-to-date assessment of observed and projected changes in the Antarctic region. Once published, we will respond to these findings in due course.

Energy: Housing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department have spent from the public purse in financial year 2018-19 on sponsoring the establishment of PAS 2035.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the declarations of interest for members of the PAS 2035 Steering Group.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many gas safe heating engineers (a) were consulted and (b) agreed to the recommendations of PAS 2035.

Claire Perry: To date, in the 2018-19 financial year, BEIS has spent £41,400 on development of PAS 2030, 2031 and 2035.The British Standards Institute (BSI) is independent from government. They own and manage the entire PAS process. As this process, including appointment of the steering group, is managed by BSI, the information requested is not held by BEIS.

Energy: Housing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the (a) names and (b) organisations that were represented on the Steering Group of PAS 2035.

Claire Perry: The British Standards Institute (BSI) is independent from government. They own and manage the entire PAS process including the appointment of the Steering Group. BSI usually include details of Steering Group members in the PAS once issued.

Energy: Housing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the effect of PAS 2035.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made on the effect on the volume of ECO fuel poverty measures of PAS 2035; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Government will consult later this year on making Trustmark certification, and therefore PAS2035, a requirement under the Energy Company Obligation. We will publish an impact assessment of the costs and benefits alongside that consultation.

Energy: Housing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the additional cost incurred of a boiler replacement under PAS 2035.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made ot the additional income to be accrued by accreditation bodies as a result of PAS 2035.

Claire Perry: We will publish an assessment of the overall impacts later this year when we consult on making PAS2035 certification a requirement for measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation.

Scottish Limited Partnerships: Ownership

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have been referred to prosecutors for non compliance with Person of Significant Control regulations.

Kelly Tolhurst: No Scottish Limited Partnerships have been referred to the Insolvency Service or to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for non-compliance with the Persons of Significant Control regulations.Companies House is working closely with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to prepare the grounds for prosecutions. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has recognised Companies House as a specialist reporting agency.Companies House’s focus has been on compliance with the Regulations. Since they came into force in July 2017, Companies House has written to all Scottish Limited Partnerships that it considers are active to seek compliance with the filing requirements. The majority of Scottish Limited Partnerships do correct their filings following a first intervention from Companies House and the number of non-compliant Scottish Limited Partnerships has continued to fall.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Gaza: Zoos

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Gaza on the treatment of animals in Rafah Zoo.

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government can take to (a) provide support to and (b) if necessary re-house the animals in Rafah Zoo, Gaza.

Alistair Burt: ​We have not had any discussions on the specific issue, as the UK retains a no contact policy with Hamas in its entirety. We remain very concerned about the humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza and regularly raise our concerns about Gaza with the Israeli authorities, urging them to work together with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to see long-term improvements.

Afghanistan: Elections

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he has had and (b) plans to have with representatives of the Afghan Government on their commitment to ensuring the fair conduct of the presidential elections due to take place in that country later in 2019.

Mark Field: The UK is committed to supporting the Afghan Government's delivery of free and fair presidential elections in 2019. We are contributing up to £16.5 million to the presidential, district and provincial elections. We work alongside other donor countries, the UN and Afghanistan's Election Management Bodies to ensure that lessons are learned following 2018's parliamentary elections, and that relevant reforms are rapidly implemented.We view elections as vital for Afghanistan's long-term stability and democratic future. In our discussions with the Afghan Government, and with other relevant individuals, groups and institutions in Afghanistan, we continue to emphasise the need to make rapid decisions on key operational issues and meet agreed timelines. This is to help ensure credible, fair and timely elections in 2019.

Iran: BBC Persian Service

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on the harassment of BBC Persian staff in that country.

Alistair Burt: We continue to raise the issue of BBC Persian at all levels with the Iranian Government. Most recently, this was through the UK’s statement at the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, on 11 March.​

Cabinet Office

Ministerial Policy Advisers: Codes of Practice

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code by Special Advisers have been acted upon by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will list those alleged breaches by Department.

Mr David Lidington: Reflecting the nature of their role, Special Advisors conduct themselves in accordance with the Special Advisors’ Code of Conduct, rather than all the provisions of the Civil Service Code. As outlined in the Special Advisors’ Code of Conduct, the responsibility for the management of conduct of Special Advisors rests with the Minister who made the appointment.

Prosperity Fund: Fossil Fuels

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money from the UK’s Prosperity Fund was used to support the fossil fuel industry in 2018.

Mr David Lidington: The Prosperity Fund’s energy related initiatives do not directly finance oil and gas exploration or production. They aim to help create policy and business environments that strengthen energy markets and encourage investment, in turn improving energy security and enabling faster transition to cleaner energy and greater energy efficiency. In 2018, the Prosperity Fund spend approximately £360,000 ODA and £246,000 non-ODA on projects relevant to the oil and gas sector. For comparison, the total Prosperity Fund planned spend for financial year 2018/19 is around £120m ODA and around £10m non-ODA

Civil Service: Equal Pay

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure gender pay equality in the civil service.

Oliver Dowden: The priority given to ensuring equal pay is reflected in the Civil Service Management Code and Civil Service pay guidance each year. Departments are obliged to ensure they are complying with equal pay legislation as employers and showing due regard to their equality obligations as public sector organisations as set out under the public sector equalities duty. This includes a commitment to work with all government departments to tackle the gender pay gap, publishing gender pay gap statistics and complying with all Equal Pay legislation under their delegated pay responsibilities.

Civil Service: Cybercrime

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have received cyber security training in each of the last three years.

Mr David Lidington: All Departments are required to provide security training as part of staff induction however the Cabinet Office does not maintain a central record of all training undertaken. Government departments are responsible for ensuring their staff receive adequate training to meet their needs. Through the work of the Government Security Profession we are developing a clear professional framework encompassing the breadth of the cyber security profession to ensure there are clear career pathways and that individuals are supported in developing their cyber security skills. 1) Departments shall establish which security messages new employees need to receive at induction, based on their role and the information/assets/sites they will have access to.2) Departments shall ensure all new employees are made aware of their security responsibilities as part of their induction.

Procurement: Standards

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many strategic suppliers received a red rating in the last five years, and how many of those suppliers have since been downgraded to (a) amber and (b) green.

Oliver Dowden: We do not publish strategic supplier risk ratings or the number of suppliers at a particular rating. Ratings are commercially sensitive both to government and to suppliers themselves.

Department of Health and Social Care

UK Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics Collaborative

Sir Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2019 to Question 219373 on UK Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics Collaborative, what representations his Department has received from members of that Collaborative; if he will publish the names of its members; and whether a Chair of that Collaborative has been appointed.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 28 February 2019



NHS England established the United Kingdom Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Diagnostics Collaborative in 2018 to deliver the UK’s diagnostic ambitions for AMR. The Collaborative has played a valuable role in developing the diagnostic elements of the new five-year UK AMR national action plan, published in January this year. The work of the Collaborative contributes directly to the Government’s commitments on AMR, and the Collaborative’s secretariat communicates with the Department on a regular basis and it has been represented by its secretariat and former chair in the UK AMR Programme’s governance groups. The Collaborative’s chair remains vacant while NHS England develops detailed plans to support the implementation of the new national plan on AMR. As part of this work, the membership of the Collaborative is under review. Current membership is drawn from a range of stakeholders across Government and its agencies, the devolved administrations, the health system, veterinary medicine, professional bodies, academia, the research community and industry. Members at or above ‘very senior manager’ (VSM) level and partner agencies involved in the Collaborative are listed in the following table.Members of the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics Collaborative at or above VSM levelOrganisationMohamed SadakHealth Education EnglandMarion LyonsWelsh GovernmentGerry WaldronPublic Health Agency Northern IrelandNeil WoodfordPublic Health EnglandPartner AgenciesNHS ScotlandNHS EnglandNHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning GroupDepartment of Health and Social CareNHS ImprovementUniversity of BristolInstitute of Biomedical ScienceAssociation of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory MedicineUK Standards for Microbiology InvestigationsRoyal College of PathologyRoyal College of General PracticeNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Medical Technology GuidanceSherwood Forrest NHS Foundation TrustRoyal College of NursingUniversity of SurreyAddenbrookes Hospital NHS TrustUniversity of EdinburghMedical Research CouncilBritish In Vitro Diagnostic AssociationNIHR Community Healthcare MedTech and In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operativeInnovate UKNICERoyal Cornwall HospitalKingston UniversityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsResponsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture AllianceUniversity of LiverpoolUlster UniversityUniversity of ExeterWestpoint Farm VetsUniversity of NottinghamCentre for Ecology and HydrologyCardiff UniversityGuy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation TrustGlasgow Caledonian University

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2019 to Question 223982 on Cervical Cancer: Screening, if he will make it his policy to (a) require CCGs to monitor and report to him on the availability of cervical screening appointments at GP surgeries and (b) request the information necessary to allow him to monitor regularly the rates of attendance for cervical screening appointments.

Steve Brine: Public Health England publishes cervical screening coverage by clinical commissioning group (CCG), which shows coverage by practice for the current period and the previous screening interval period of 3.5 years or 5.5 years. The information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-coverage-and-data NHS England commissioners oversee services so that performance and trends can be monitored locally. NHS England is accountable to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for how well it performs its responsibilities under the Public Health Functions Agreement including to commission high quality public health services, with efficient use of resources, seeking to achieve positive health outcomes and to promote equality and reduce health inequalities. Quarterly assurance reports, produced jointly by NHS England and Public Health England, include a performance indicator on cervical screening coverage rates. In addition, a range of national statistics and other data on cervical screening including coverage rates at primary care and CCG levels is published by NHS Digital and is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cervical-screening-programme As part of the delivery of the General Practitioner Five Year Forward View, the National Health Service is investing more than £258 million to improve access to general practice. Patients are now benefitting from improved access to all routine appointments (including cervical screening), at evening and/or weekends. The NHS Cervical Cancer screening programme saves an estimated 5,000 lives a year by detecting abnormalities of the cervix early and referring women for effective treatment.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the valproate pregnancy prevention programme in reducing the number of children born with birth defects and persistent developmental disorders.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made on the number of healthcare professionals that are not complying with the requirements of the valproate pregnancy prevention programme.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of link between birth defects and persistent developmental disorders and fathers taking valproate at the time of conception.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In April 2018, strengthened regulatory measures for valproate were introduced following a European-wide review of the latest evidence on harms from valproate exposure during pregnancy, including congenital anomalies and neurodevelopmental disorders including autism in children. These measures include the valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme, the goal of which is to rapidly reduce and eventually eliminate pregnancies exposed to valproate. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is monitoring the impact of, and adherence to, the strengthened regulatory recommendations for valproate including the Pregnancy Prevention Programme, using research studies and routinely collected healthcare data. These include data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, national databases in England (NHS Business Services Authority and NHS Digital), Scotland (Information Services Division), and Northern Ireland (Health and Social Care Northern Ireland) linking community drug dispensing and maternity services data where these are available. The MHRA is also accessing data on valproate from clinical audits run by healthcare professional organisations, and information on patients’ experience of introduction of the strengthened regulatory measures via surveys conducted by charitable organisations and patient groups. Monitoring of prescribing of valproate has shown a slow, continued decline in women of childbearing age. Data show variability in levels of prescribing of valproate to women of childbearing age across different clinical commissioning groups in England. The current monitoring methods used by the MHRA do not enable comprehensive monitoring of compliance at the prescriber or patient level. It is therefore not possible to estimate the number of healthcare professionals who are not complying with all aspects of the Pregnancy Prevention Programme. Surveys of patient experiences have shown some evidence of non-compliance amongst healthcare professionals with the valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme. Actions are being taken by the relevant professional regulators to follow up and address this. The recent European review of valproate in pregnancy considered a possible association between birth defects and persistent developmental disorders associated with paternal valproate treatment at the time of conception. The review concluded that there was insufficient evidence at present to establish such a link. A retrospective observational study is to be undertaken to further investigate this issue for which a study protocol is currently being agreed by the European Medicines Agency.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2019 to Question 207185 on Cannabis: Medical Treatments, whether data on prescriptions of cannabis-based medicinal products will (a) be published in the public domain, (b) include UK-wide data and (c) include the numbers of people obtaining a such a prescription.

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2019 to Question 207185 on Cannabis: Medical Treatments, whether data on prescriptions of cannabis-based medicinal products will include (a) the type of product prescribed, (b) the indication that product was prescribed for and (c) the number of those such prescriptions by NHS clinical commissioning group area.

Steve Brine: NHS England is using extant systems to monitor use of the newly rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in the process of setting up similar systems. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary care. NHS England Controlled Drug Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the National Health Service and independent sector. We expect this data to be available by end of March 2019.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of medical training bodies on ensuring that training programs for doctors, nurses and other health professionals include the most up to date guidance on diagnosis and appropriate treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Steve Brine: Ministers at the Department regularly meet with medical training bodies including the General Medical Council, to discuss many issues. However, there have been no recent discussions with medical training bodies to discuss the guidance on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). In terms of training, the General Medical Council sets out the knowledge, skills and behaviours that new United Kingdom medical graduates must be able to demonstrate and Royal Medical Colleges, such as the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) set the standards for postgraduate medical education in general practice. General practice is where most patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/ME are likely to be managed, and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the RCGP Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the UK within the context of the NHS and is a key part of general practitioners’ qualifying exams. On 20 September 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence announced its decision to undertake a full update of the guideline, ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children’, following a review of the latest available evidence on the diagnosis and management of CFS/ME and a public consultation. New guidance is expected in October 2020. More information on this decision can be found at the following link:www.nice.org.uk/news/article/nice-to-begin-review-of-its-guidance-on-the-diagnosis-and-treatment-of-cfs-me

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Medical Treatments

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NICE on bringing forward the release of the revised NICE guidelines on ME, due to be published in October 2020.

Steve Brine: The Department has had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and responsible for developing its guidelines in accordance with its published methods and processes. NICE expects to publish its final updated guideline in October 2020 with a consultation on draft guidance starting in April 2020.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Medical Treatments

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NICE on issuing an interim warning on the potential dangers of graded exercise therapy (GET) as a treatment for ME, prior to issuing its revised guideline in October 2020.

Steve Brine: The Department has had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for developing its guidance in accordance with its published methods and processes. NICE takes into account the best available evidence in determining whether to recommend a treatment.

Tomography: Procurement

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) patients and (b) members of the public took part in the two webinars related to the procurement process of PET-CT scanning services.

Steve Brine: Neither the Department nor NHS England hold an attendance register for the two webinars offered following publication of the engagement report.

Medical Treatments: Innovation

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his plans are for the future of NHS England’s Commissioning through Evaluation programme.

Steve Brine: The Commissioning through Evaluation programme is led by NHS England. The programme opened in 2014, with a small number of initial schemes established to generate material new data to support clinical commissioning policy formation for potentially promising specialised treatments. The evaluative commissioning programme continues to develop based on the learning from these early pilot areas. The future developments of the programme are the responsibility of NHS England.

Medical Treatments: Technology

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the regional variation in the uptake of MedTech products across the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: Through the Accelerated Access Review, the NHS Long Term Plan and the second Life Sciences Sector Deal, the Government and the National Health Service have confirmed their commitment that, where appropriate, all patients should be able to benefit from the best treatments as fast as possible. To deliver on this, we have announced a number of measures to improve the spread of health tech innovations: - Strengthening the Innovation Scorecard, the national tool that measures the uptake of cost effective innovations approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and widening the range of medtech products it covers;- From 2020, a new NHS England health tech funding requirement will identify the best value innovations as ‘ready to spread’ and help the NHS to adopt them quickly. This will apply to health tech products assessed as cost saving by NICE. In addition, NICE will significantly increase the number of evaluations it does for health tech products, so that the NHS has the evidence it needs to decide the best products to adopt and spread;- The Accelerated Access Collaborative, under the chairmanship of Lord Darzi, will be expanded to be the umbrella organisation across the innovation landscape in the United Kingdom, tackling the system wide-barriers that cause unwarranted variation in the level of access for patients;- The regional network of Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) will also continue to be a key partner in adoption and spread of health technology. AHSNs bring together the assets in their regions to drive innovation uptake and support local service transformation, promoting health equality, best practice and transformation in leadership, quality and safety of care; and- These approaches build on NHS Improvement’s Getting It Right First Time and NHS RightCare initiatives, which seek to improve the quality of care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variation.

Orkambi

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2018 to Question 122336 on Orkambi, whether he has made an estimate of the potential savings accruing to the public purse from reduced hospital admissions in the event that Orkambi is made available on the NHS.

Steve Brine: As stated in my answer on 19 January 2018, the Department has made no estimate.

Orkambi

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2018 to Question 122358 on Orkambi: Republic of Ireland, whether he has had further discussions with his Irish counterpart on the cost-effectiveness of Orkambi in treating cystic fibrosis.

Steve Brine: The Department has had no further discussions with the Republic of Ireland in relation to Orkambi.

NHS Digital: Electricity Generation

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what back-up power generation systems are in place for NHS Digital; and when they were last tested under load.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital has advised that back-up power generation systems are in place at the following locations:- Leeds - last load bank test carried out on 6 March 2019; and- Exeter - last load bank test carried out on 25 June 2018.

Hospitals: Electricity Generation

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a central register of back-up generators at NHS hospitals is maintained by his Department.

Stephen Hammond: A central register of back-up generators at National Health Service hospitals is not maintained centrally. NHS trusts are responsible for ensuring their estate and services are resilient against emergencies, hazards and threats and their impacts and consequences.

Health: Screening

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure and monitor that women have full information about the screening available in the public and private sectors and the conditions being screened for, before they embark on the screening pathway.

Steve Brine: When inviting women to participate in young person and adult screening, National Health Service screening programmes send a letter of invitation with information about why screening is being offered and the benefits and risks of the offer, to enable individuals to make a personal informed choice. In the antenatal period, general practitioners (GPs) provide expectant mothers with the ‘Screening for you and your baby’ booklet, which explains the screening tests offered during and after pregnancy and the GP will discuss each screening offer at subsequent appointments. This booklet is available to view at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/screening-tests-for-you-and-your-baby-description-in-brief It is important that women who wish to participate in screening engage in screening programmes that are recommended by the United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC), allowing women to make personal informed choices at each step of the screening pathway. The UK NSC helps provide women who wish to engage in private screening with information and has written a blog to help individuals think about the outcomes before engaging in private screening. The blog is available to view at the following link: https://phescreening.blog.gov.uk/2018/03/02/a-reminder-about-private-screening-and-a-last-opportunity-to-order-leaflets-about-it/

NHS: Carbon Emissions

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to deliver the low carbon commitment in the NHS England Long Term Plan; and what discussions he has had with pharmacy organisations on the role of pharmacists in helping patients decide whether to opt for low carbon inhalers.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase (a) patient and (b) clinician awareness of the (i) effect on carbon emissions of inhalers and (ii) range of low carbon inhalers available; and how he plans to measure progress on the increased use of low carbon inhalers in the NHS.

Steve Brine: The Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), a joint NHS England and Public Health England unit, has established a cross sector working group on low carbon inhalers. The group includes representation from a number of patient and clinician groups, as well as cross Government representation. A cross system approach is now being developed into a system wide implementation plan, with specific actions being delivered by individual members of the group. All actions are supporting progress towards or exceed the NHS Long Term Plan commitment on low carbon inhalers. This will contribute to the overall National Health Service commitment in the Long Term Plan to reduce carbon emissions in line with the UK Climate Change Act. The SDU is also engaging centrally with systematic data collection and data provision systems for clinicians and local system leaders to help ensure that clinical and strategic decision makers are aware how their local area is performing with regards to achieving the national targets in the Long Term Plan and what options are available for them to further reduce the carbon emissions of local prescribing and inhaler waste management practice.

Strokes: Medical Treatments

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long-Term Plan, what steps he plans to take to deliver a ten-fold increase in the proportion of patients who receive thrombectomy procedure after stroke so that all eligible patients have access to that treatment by 2022.

Steve Brine: The National Health Service will publish an implementation framework for the Long Term Plan in the spring. Since June 2018, NHS England has been working closely with the Stroke Association to develop a national stroke programme to be delivered within the timescale of the Long Term Plan. A stroke programme delivery board will be established in April 2019 to oversee development of the stroke plan as part of the governance arrangements for the cardiovascular disease-respiratory programme.

Strokes: Medical Treatments

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how Health Education England plans to increase the number of stroke specialists trained to deliver thrombectomy.

Steve Brine: Health Education England is working with the Royal College of Radiology and other partners to increase the number of specialists trained to deliver thrombectomy by modernising the stroke workforce with a focus on cross-specialty and in some cases cross-profession accreditation of relevant competencies. This includes work with the medical Royal Colleges and specialty societies to develop a new credentialing programme for hospital consultants from a variety of relevant disciplines who will be trained to offer mechanical thrombectomy. The details of this credentialing programme are being finalised and the programme is planned to start later this year.

NHS: Staff

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming NHS workforce implementation plan will model future patient demands as part of determining NHS future workforce needs.

Stephen Hammond: The National Health Service workforce implementation plan will be based on modelling of future workforce needs in line with delivering the vision of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Hospitals: Standards

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2019 to Question 223521 on Waiting Lists: North East, whether any changes to the pledges of (a) a maximum four-hour wait in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge and (b) other waiting times set out on pages 32 and 33 of the Handbook to the NHS Constitution will be subject to public consultation.

Stephen Hammond: NHS England published the clinically-led review of standards interim report on 11 March 2019. The full report and recommendations from the NHS National Medical Director can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-review-nhs-access-standards/ These proposals will now be rigorously field tested, to gather further evidence on clinical, operational, workforce and financial implications. Alongside field-testing, a review panel will undertake extensive engagement across the wider health system ahead of presenting the evidence and making final recommendations to the Government. Staff bodies, patient groups and others will be involved in the testing and development of the proposals before finalising recommendations. A final report will be published in the autumn, after which final recommendations will be implemented more widely, and full implementation beginning in spring 2020. The standards are set out in the Handbook to the NHS Constitution and we will update the Handbook as necessary to reflect any changes to standards. There is no requirement to hold a consultation to make changes to the handbook.

Hearing Impairment: Emergency Calls

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to enable deaf people to use 999 to contact the ambulance service using video relay services.

Caroline Dinenage: In England, the provision of an assistive service such as video relay for deaf people to use 999 to contact ambulance services, is determined by local authorities, local clinical commissioning groups and National Health Service emergency services dependant on individual circumstances. A more common means of contacting ambulance services is the use of text messaging from mobile phones for emergencies. Deaf people can register to do so with local emergency services.

NHS: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS finance (a) workforce and (b) finance directors are female; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the number and proportion of male and female staff who work in the National Health Service finance workforce and are finance directors, headcount as at November 2018. These figures include staff who work in NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, support organisations and central bodies in England. FemaleMaleNHS Finance workforce9,7025,800Proportion of whole NHS finance workforce62.6%37.4%   Finance Directors52135Proportion of all finance directors27.8%72.2%Source: NHS Digital The data is based on how NHS organisations record their staff categories. Staff are categorised as part of the NHS finance workforce if the work of the team they belong to is described as ‘Finance’, and as Financial Directors if they have a Job Role described as a ‘Finance Director’. Some organisations may not categorise their workforce who have these responsibilities as such because this is dependent on each organisations’ structure.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social care, how many households' claims for Healthy Start vouchers have ceased upon claiming universal credit; and how many of those households failed to make a new claim.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This information is not held centrally.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce waiting times for smear test results.

Steve Brine: NHS England is taking steps to make sure the delivery, performance and oversight of screening services meet the high standard National Health Service patients rightly expect. This includes moving samples around the country to reduce the burden on those laboratories most under pressure. Unpublished management data has also shown a significant improvement in turnaround times in the last quarter of 2018/19, therefore it is expected that as the proportion of women benefitting from HPV primary screening continues to increase, waiting times for smear test results will reduce. Nevertheless, the 14-day turnaround time for test results to be provided remains a vital target for the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.

Dialysis Machines

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the equity of access to home-based dialysis services in England; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the availability of home-based dialysis services across each (a) Clinical Commissioning Group area and (b) Parliamentary constituency.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients receiving home-based dialysis in place of hospital-based dialysis in each of the past three years.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the cost benefit to the NHS of the provision of dialysis services in a patient’s home compared to a clinical setting.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of reductions in (a) travel times for patients, (b) recovery times, (c) reliance on additional medicines and (d) risk of death amongst patients with access to home dialysis provision.

Steve Brine: NHS England commissions dialysis services at a national level as a specialised service, setting out what providers should have in place to deliver dialysis care, including at home, as part of its remit to deliver specialised services. National Commissioning supports equity of access to high quality dialysis care. The service delivery contract sets out that the principle should be that home haemodialysis should always be an option for patients and that solutions should be sought to overcoming barriers that might prevent this. Decisions should be made on an individual basis but in general, patients suitable for home haemodialysis will be those who:- have the ability and motivation to learn to carry out the process and the commitment to maintain treatment;- are stable on dialysis;- are free of complications and significant concomitant disease that would render home haemodialysis unsuitable or unsafe;- have good functioning vascular access;- have a carer who has (or carers who have) also made an informed decision to assist with the haemodialysis unless the individual is able to manage on his or her own; and- have suitable space and facilities or an area that could be adapted within their home environment. NHS England’s renal services specifications can be found at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a06/ NHS England Specialised Services use the Renal Registry Annual Report and data to support work with local dialysis services so they are aware where variation exists so this can be considered and addressed. The Atlas of variation, published by Public Health England in 2015, showed that for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England, the percentage of dialysis patients who were receiving dialysis in the home (home haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis combined) ranged from 4.1% to 44.0% (10.6-fold variation). When the seven CCGs with the highest percentages and the seven CCGs with the lowest percentages are excluded, the range is 7.6–33.7%, and the variation is 4.4-fold. Variation by parliamentary constituency is not available. Reasons for the degree of variation observed include differences in: - access to, and timely assessment by, a specialist kidney unit – working with patients to help them decide between treatments takes time, but in some areas 30% of patients are not known to their kidney team for even 90 days before they start renal replacement therapy;- access to a multi-professional team, including staff who regularly support patients undertaking home dialysis; and- levels of support for people undertaking home dialysis to help them maintain their independence, including access to respite in-centre dialysis. The Atlas can be found at the following link: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/atlas-of-variation According to the latest data from the UK Renal Registry (UKRR), there were 1,195 patients receiving home dialysis in the United Kingdom in 2014, 1,175 patients in 2015; and 1,256 patients in 2016. The UKRR collects, analyses and reports on data from 71 adult and 13 paediatric renal centres. Participation is mandated in England, via the national services specification published by NHS England. The latest report from the UK Renal Registry can be found at the following link: www.renalreg.org/publications-reports/ No specific assessment of the cost to the National Health Service of the provision of dialysis services in a patient’s home compared to a clinical setting has been undertaken. In its assessment of the evidence regarding cost, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) set out in its guideline, ‘Renal Replacement Therapy and Conservative Management’, published in October 2018, that there is uncertainty in current UK dialysis costs, but they may be lower at home. The committee acknowledged that these treatments can have very different effects on lifestyle and recommended patient choice. The NICE guideline can be found at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng107/resources/renal-replacement-therapy-and-conservative-management-pdf-66141542991301 Regarding the benefits of home dialysis, there is good evidence that home dialysis therapies offer advantages for suitable patients. The limitations of thrice weekly standard in-centre haemodialysis have been recognised in recent years. However, it is very difficult to separate the effect of different case mix, the most up to date and comprehensive data does not show a survival difference between patients who received more frequent versus thrice weekly (standard regimen) haemodialysis. The advantage of self-care haemodialysis includes not only those related to control and convenience but also the opportunity to conduct more frequent or longer sessions to optimise health prospects. The introduction of smaller more portable haemodialysis machines also provides opportunity for travel for employment or holidays. Furthermore, these therapies are cost effective in the UK when compared with hospital treatments and have been demonstrated to be safe. Information regarding a reduction in travel times and reliance on other medicines is not available.

Kidney Diseases

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which stakeholder groups representing patients in need of kidney care his Department has engaged with in relation to the prevention Green Paper.

Steve Brine: The Department has not, in the context of work on the prevention Green paper, engaged specifically with groups representing patients of kidney care. However, conversations on this may have taken place elsewhere in the Department, outside the Green Paper. The Green Paper will consider options for preventing a wide range of physical and mental health problems and seek views on what actions are most needed.

Hospitals: Consultants

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of advertised Consultant posts are unfilled; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for those vacancies.

Stephen Hammond: The proportion of unfilled advertised consultant posts in England is not held centrally. Since April 2017, NHS Improvement collect vacancy rates of medical staff from individual National Health Service providers and publish them as part of their ‘Quarterly performance of the NHS provider sector’ report found at the following link: https://improvement.nhs.uk/documents/4942/Performance_of_the_NHS_provider_sector_for_the_quarter_ended_31_Dec_2018.pdf The Department is taking steps to increase the supply of consultants in the future. By September 2020, there will be 1,500 more undergraduate medical school places every year by September 2020, 630 of which were taken up in September 2018. Five brand new medical schools will help deliver these places, alongside existing medical schools which have demonstrated a commitment to sending more trainees to rural or coastal areas and increasing the number of general practitioners and mental health specialists.

Community Nurses: Recruitment

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to recruit more community nurses.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to recruit additional nurses with a specialism in learning (a) difficulties and (b) disabilities.

Caroline Dinenage: It is the responsibility of individual health and care employers to have staffing arrangements in place that deliver safe and effective care. This includes recruiting the workforce required to support these levels and meet local needs. The National Health Service Long Term Plan, published 7 January 2019, made clear the importance of moving care into the community, and the government’s commitment to achieving this. We know that to deliver this, we need to have the right community services workforce with the skills, knowledge and capacity to meet current and future needs of an ageing population with more complex needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asked Baroness Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement, to oversee the delivery of a Workforce Implementation Plan to be published in the spring. Health Education England (HEE) is leading a review of community nursing to better understand the skills and knowledge required within a contemporary community nursing workforce, both for now and into the future. HEE is also proactively encouraging more people to train to become learning disability nurses through a number of initiatives, including: - An accelerated postgraduate nurse programme for mental health and learning disabilities to attract high-achieving graduates into a career in nursing; and- Ensuring nurses in other sectors have the opportunities to develop their skills further to work in learning disability nursing. Announced on 9 May 2018, students who commenced loan funded postgraduate pre-registration nursing courses in the 2018/19 academic year will be eligible for a ‘golden hello’ payment of £10,000 once they have graduated and go on to work in learning disability, mental health or district nursing. Payments will be made to these graduates once they take up in employment in the health and care sector in England. Working with the NHS and the university sector, the Government is finalising the most effective way to administer and introduce the scheme and will set out details in due course.

Health Professions: Regulation

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for introducing statutory regulation for medical associate professions; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: On 7 February 2019 the Government published its response to the consultation on the Regulation of Medical Associate Professions in the United Kingdom, confirming the decision to introducing statutory regulation for physician associates and physicians’ assistants (anesthesia). Work is now underway to decide which healthcare regulator will take on responsibility for the regulation of these two roles. Once this has been confirmed, the Government will work with relevant stakeholders to develop the required legislation. Bringing non-regulated healthcare professions into statutory regulation is typically done using section 60 of the Health Act 1999. This process takes around 18 to 24 months to complete, subject to Parliamentary time.

Terminal Illnesses: Drugs

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has in place to ensure that people accessing secondary health care for terminal illnesses who are (a) reliant on life-extending and (b) dependent on drugs do not have their drugs supply interrupted in the event that the UK leaves the EU (i) without an agreement and (ii) with an agreement under which the medicine supply is restricted.

Stephen Hammond: Leaving the European Union with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. However, as a responsible Government we must plan for every possible outcome including ‘no deal’. The Department has published guidance to industry and the health and care system to allow them to make informed plans and preparations. This is available on GOV.UK.The Government has been working closely with industry to ensure the supply of medicines, including those which are used to treat people with terminal illnesses, can continue uninterrupted in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit, including building stockpiles, providing additional warehousing space and buying freight capacity on alternative ferry routes.The Department, together with industry and the National Health Service, has analysed the supply chains of 12,300 medicines and we are grateful for excellent engagement from all parties, which means our plans are well advanced.In August 2018, the Department wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only and pharmacy medicines, including those used to treat patients with terminal illnesses, to the United Kingdom that come from or via the EU/European Economic Area, asking them to ensure a minimum of six weeks’ additional supply in the UK, over and above existing business-as-usual buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019 in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit.The Department has put in place a multi-layered approach to minimise any supply disruption. We are confident that, if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products will be uninterrupted.

Babylon Health

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he holds information on the amount of revenue allocated from the NHS GP funding formula which Babylon Healthcare has spent on primary healthcare in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Leader of the House

Brexit: Statutory Instruments

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Leader of the House, whether the Government has plans to publish the titles of the Statutory Instruments in relation to the UK leaving the EU that have been deprioritised by the Government and will not be approved by Parliament in advance of 29 March 2019.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Leader of the House, if she will publish the criteria the Government is using to deprioritise Statutory Instruments relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Leader of the House, how many Statutory Instruments in relation to the UK leaving the EU deprioritised by the Government and will not be approved by Parliament in advance of  29 March 2019.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government's objective has always been to have a functioning statute book in place by Exit Day. As I have said previously in correspondence to the Procedure Committee and the European Statutory Instrument Committee, departments have taken steps to prioritise the statutory instruments (SIs) that were essential to achieving this. These considerations and assessments made by individual departments have meant that we have been able to lay over 90% of the secondary legislation required before we exit the EU. SIs that Departments deem to be non-essential, or where alternative powers already exist, have been deprioritised. Any SIs that fall into this category and are still required but not before Exit Day, will be laid before Parliament and Members will have the opportunity to scrutinise them in the normal way.

Department for Education

European University Institute

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2019 to Question 224488, what the evidential basis is the statement in that answer that the UK’s EU membership is inextricably linked to its current membership of the European University Institute Convention and that the UK’s membership of the EUIC will automatically cease on 29 March 2019.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 14 March 2019



The terms of the European University Institute Convention (EUIC) expressly refer to the contracting states of the Convention being EU Member States and limit future accession to the Convention to EU Member States. It is therefore not possible for a non-Member State to become a signatory to the Convention and participate in that capacity. Accordingly, when the UK ceases to be a Member State of the EU, it will also cease to be a party to the Convention. However the UK will continue to be covered by the EUIC for the duration of the Implementation Period if the Withdrawal Agreement is passed.

European University Institute

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of 11 March 2019, Official Report, column 20, by the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation on the European University Institute (EUI), what the evidential basis is for the Minister's statement that the UK cannot be a member of the EUI if it is not an EU member state.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 15 March 2019



The terms of the European University Institute Convention (EUIC) expressly refer to the contracting states of the Convention being EU Member States and limit future accession to the Convention to EU Member States. It is therefore not possible for a non-Member State to become a signatory to the Convention and participate in that capacity. Accordingly, when the UK ceases to be a Member State of the EU, it will also cease to be a party to the Convention. However, the UK will continue to be covered by the EUIC for the duration of the Implementation Period if the Withdrawal Agreement is passed.

Priority School Building Programme

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new school buildings have been built in phase one of the Priority Schools Building Programme.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 15 March 2019



253 of the 260 schools in phase one of the Priority School Building Programme are open in new or refurbished buildings. The remaining 7 schools have site specific issues causing the building projects to take longer.

Schools: Asbestos

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital expenditure has been incurred by his Department for removing asbestos from school buildings in each financial year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: Schools and those responsible for school buildings receive annual condition funding for maintaining and improving buildings, including removing or encapsulating asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so. This funding is delivered through different routes depending on their size and type. Local authorities and larger multi academy trusts receive a school condition allocation and it is for them to prioritise investment across the schools for which they are responsible. Smaller, or stand-alone academy trusts and sixth form colleges have access to the Condition Improvement Fund. The Department for Education has responsibility for England and has distributed over £11 billion in condition funding nationally from 2011-12 to 2018-19, an average of £1.4 billion a year. In addition, the Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing school buildings in the worst condition across England, covering over 500 schools. Asbestos was a factor when selecting buildings for the programme. Expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive is clear that as long as asbestos-containing materials are undamaged, and not in locations where they are vulnerable to damage, they are best managed in situ. The Department is clear that when asbestos cannot be effectively managed in situ, it should be removed or encapsulated – and the Department provides significant condition funding which can be used for this purpose.

Schools: Fire Extinguishers

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools built in phase one of the Priority Schools Building Programme had sprinkler systems fitted for fire safety.

Nick Gibb: The Government attaches the highest priority to the safety of pupils and staff. All schools have to follow strict fire safety regulations, including having a fire risk assessment designed to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire. Sprinklers must be fitted where they are deemed necessary to keep pupils and staff safe, following an assessment of risk at the design stage, or to meet local planning requirements. All new school building projects must comply with building regulations, including on fire safety, and this must be independently checked by Building Control or an Approved Inspector before buildings are occupied. The number of new schools built by the Department under phase one of the Priority Schools Building Programme and open as of February 2019, was 253. Sprinklers are fitted in 77 of these schools.

Care Leavers: Supported Housing

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many care leavers are housed in supported accommodation and remain the responsibility of local authorities, in each local authority in England.

Nadhim Zahawi: The latest national information on the number of care leavers in different accommodation settings can be found in tables F2 and F4 in the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England: including Adoption: 2017 to 2018’ at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018. These figures are also disaggregated at local authority level for 2018 in the underlying data tables that accompany this statistical release.

Interserve: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprentices are currently receiving training from Interserve Learning and Employment; what steps he is taking to ensure they complete their apprenticeships; and what contracts his Department holds with Interserve and its subsidiaries.

Anne Milton: The latest individual learner record return for February 2019 indicates that Interserve Learning & Employment (Services) Ltd is working with 4,073 apprentices employed by both levy and non-levy paying employers. Interserve is currently working with 1,990 employers.Interserve is currently providing continuity of service to all apprentices and their employers and is operating as normal with no disruption to current operations. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) currently holds contracts to the value of £9,579,144 with Interserve Learning and Employment (Services) Ltd (this was published in the funding summary in January 2019).In addition, Interserve Learning and Employment (Services) Ltd has 5 European Social Funded contracts with the ESFA that started between April and November 2016 and that will end in March 2019. The total value of these contracts is £19,542,601.

Interserve: School Meals

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of schools that source their school meals from Interserve or its subsidiaries; and what steps he is taking to ensure continuity of service.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities and academy trusts are responsible for their own contracts. Information available to the Department indicates that the number of local authority and academy trust schools covered by catering contracts with Interserve subsidiaries, is relatively low.As Interserve has stated publicly, its business will continue to operate as normal for customers and suppliers. The operating companies of Interserve have not entered administration and will be unaffected. As a result, public services (including school meals) will continue without disruption or impact on jobs.

Children: Social Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Local Government Association estimate of a £3.1 billion funding gap in children's services by 2024-25, what plans his Department has to provide additional funding to local authorities for children and young people’s services.

Nadhim Zahawi: My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that there will be a Spending Review this year. All long-term spending decisions will be made as part of that and we are working with the sector to ensure that decisions are based on the best available evidence.

Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's oral contribution of 13 March 2019, Official Report, column 349, on the Spring Statement, what the evidential basis is for his statement that the apprenticeship programme is rolling out three million new high-quality apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: In his Spring Statement my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, reiterated the government’s ambition of 3 million new high-quality apprenticeships by 2020 and the importance of making sure that technical and vocational skills are at the heart of our education system but we will not sacrifice quality for quantity.We regularly report on progress toward the target in our apprenticeships and traineeships publications, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.

Music: Curriculum

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the bidding process to draft the new model music curriculum was not subject to an open tender.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what basis the three organisations invited to bid to draft the new model music curriculum were selected.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to put the draft model music curriculum out for consultation.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations he has received from members of the music teaching profession on the process that has been adopted for the creation of the new model music curriculum.

Nick Gibb: The Department used a selective tender process for contracting a drafter. This approach was taken so that this non-statutory model music curriculum can be made available before the end of the summer term. The Department ran the procurement in accordance with Government procurement rules, which allow for selective tendering for requirements valued below £20,000.The Incorporated Society of Musicians and Music Mark were invited to bid as the two UK music subject associations. The Associated Board for the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) was invited to bid as the largest music education body in the UK.The Department has received offers from practitioners to participate in development of the model curriculum. As part of their work, the expert panel and the lead drafter have been drawing on input from members of the teaching profession and from wider music organisations. This will continue to be the case throughout the duration of the development process. The model music curriculum will build on and will not conflict with the statutory music curriculum.

Children: Climate Change

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that all children are aware of climate change.

Nick Gibb: It is important that young people are taught about climate change. Topics related to this are included in both the science and geography curriculum and qualifications.In primary school science pupils are taught about how weather changes across the four seasons, and look at how environments can change as a result of human actions. In secondary science pupils are taught about the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the effect this has on the climate. This is expanded on in GCSE science where pupils will consider the evidence for additional anthropogenic causes of climate change. As part of GCSE geography pupils will look at the causes, consequences of and responses to extreme weather conditions and natural weather hazards.In 2017, the Department also introduced a new environmental science A level. This will enable students to study topics that will support their understanding of climate change and how it can be tackled.

Education: Standards

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of regional inequalities in educational attainment in England.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes the attainment of state-funded pupils at the end of Key Stage 2, Key Stage 4, and 16-18 study, for each region in England[1]. The headline measures for 2017/18 for each key stage are provided in the tables attached. [1] Key Stage 2: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-key-stage-2.Key Stage 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4.16-18: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-attainment-at-19-years.



233634_Attainment_Headline_Measures_for_2017-18
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Schools: Counselling

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of counselling services provided in schools in (a) England and (b) Staffordshire; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department recognises that school based counselling by well-qualified practitioners can play an effective role as part of a whole school approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing. It is for schools to decide what support to put in place based on the particular needs of their pupils.The Department has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of counselling services provided in schools. However, the Department's nationally representative survey of school provision published in 2017 indicated that 61% of schools offer counselling services, with 84% of secondary schools providing their pupils with access to counselling support.[1] To support schools to provide counselling, the Government has provided advice on how to deliver high quality school-based counselling.[2]The Government is introducing new mental health support teams to provide additional support linked to groups of schools and colleges. The first teams are being set up in 25 areas of the country this year. The aim is for these teams to work together with existing provision, including school-based counselling. The Government will evaluate their introduction to ensure that they do not displace existing provision. [1] Supporting Mental Health in Schools and Colleges (2017).[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.

Pre-school Education: Testing

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish his plans for the baseline assessment testing of four year olds to be undertaken within six weeks of such children joining a reception class.

Nick Gibb: The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) will be overseeing a national voluntary pilot of the reception baseline assessment (RBA) starting this September. The pilot registration window is currently open to state-funded schools with a reception cohort, and will close on April 5 2019.On February 27 2019, the STA published the RBA framework and a supporting document. The assessment framework provides details about the assessment for the pilot year, including information about the content of the assessment and its design. The supporting document provides further information on the development process, content and format of the assessment. These documents can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reception-baseline-assessment-framework.

Overseas Students

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of overseas students who were studying at further and higher education facilities in the UK in 2018.

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of (a) the 10 countries supplying the most overseas students and (b) the numbers of students from each of those countries who were studying at further and higher education facilities in the UK in 2018.

Chris Skidmore: Information on the nationality of learners is not held for government funded further education courses via the Individualised Learner Record. The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes statistics on enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Latest statistics refer to the academic year 2017-18. In total, there are 458,490 higher education (HE) students enrolled at UK HEIs from non-UK countries in 2017-18[1]. This can be found at:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from. The table below shows the top 10 countries that have HE students entering UK HEIs in 2017-18 ranked by how many entrants they have at UK HEIs.   Country of domicile  Number  China 76,425 India 12,465 United States 11,625 Germany 7,135 France 6,910 Hong Kong 6,790 Italy 6,160 Malaysia 5,935 Greece 5,080 Nigeria 4,805 Source: Figures 10 and 11https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from. [1] Source: Figure 8

Ministry of Justice

Family Courts: Consultation Papers

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to publish its Green Paper on family justice matters.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is developing significant reforms in both private and public family law individually, and consulting on them as appropriate, as an alternative to a Green Paper. The Government has recently consulted on proposals to reform divorce law to reduce family conflict. The Government will publish its response shortly and plans to introduce legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows. To help separating couples make arrangements for the future, we are increasing awareness of alternative dispute resolution options outside court, including mediation, through better and improved online information and signposting. As announced in the Autumn Budget, the Government has asked the Law Commission to propose options for a simple and fair system of weddings to give couples meaningful choice. The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education have also developed proposals, in close collaboration with the sector, to address rising volumes of children entering the family justice system and local variation in that system. These proposals focus on better preparation of cases before court and diversion of cases from court where appropriate, making better use of the wider family network and promoting consistent and appropriate decisions in court.

Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many separate health and safety incident reporting processes are in use by staff working in each prison in England and Wales.

Rory Stewart: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has a single dedicated accident and incident reporting system for Health & Safety Matters, known as Sphera. Some information held on other systems, such as assault data on the Incident Reporting System, may also be relevant to health and safety issues.

Prisons: Drugs

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of monitoring systems for psychoactive substances in prisons.

Rory Stewart: Drug testing is an essential element of the HMPPS drug strategy and provides us with robust evidence on the prevalence of drug misuse. Drug testing can be used in support of security measures, to identify and signpost into drug treatment, monitor treatment compliance and act as an incentive to engage in treatment and drug free living.HMPPS continues to explore new methodologies to develop our mandatory and voluntary drug testing frameworks enabling us to be responsive to the changing patterns of drug misuse in prisons. This includes the misuse of prescribed medication, and the dynamic market in psychoactive substances.

Prisons: Drugs

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with trade unions on the effectiveness of monitoring systems for psychoactive substances in prisons.

Rory Stewart: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service consults extensively with its trade unions on a wide range of issues.Each prison has its own union management consultation committee and a health and safety committee. At national level there are consultation committees which cover areas including health and safety, HR and security. Meetings are chaired by senior leaders and the agendas are open to both sides.HMPPS’s priority remains the prevention and cessation of any drug supply into prisons and consultation on all the related risks is undertaken in the forums I have referred to above.Additionally, all Prison Service unions have been represented on the national working group on psychoactive substances – which was set up in late 2016.Most recently unions have actively contributed to the revision of related health and safety procedures on the subject, including in 10 prisons where staff are being voluntarily tested for exposure to such substances.

Prisons: Consultants

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of his Department’s spending on consultancy fees relating to the introduction of the new Prison Education Framework.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of spending by each prison in England and Wales on consultancy fees relating to the introduction of the new Prison Education Framework.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has allocated a budget across financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 of up to £300,000 for consultancy fees. This relates to the introduction of the new Prison Education Framework, the prison education Dynamic Purchasing System and prison library delivery. So far, £240,000 has been spent all on legal advice. The total value of the Prison Education Framework is expected to be up to £520 million over four years. Information on spending by prisons in England on consultancy fees relating to the introduction of the new Prison Education Framework is not held centrally and would have to be obtained from each individual prison. This could only be done at disproportionate cost. The Prison Education Framework does not apply in Wales.

Crime: Victims

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the steps the Government is taking to ensure that victims of serious crimes receive more frequent updates on the progress of their cases.

Edward Argar: In England and Wales, the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code) outlines the services victims are entitled to receive, including updates on the progress of their case. Generally, victims are entitled to receive information within 5 working days of specified events, such as when a suspect is arrested or released without charge. Victims of the most serious offences are entitled to receive those updates within 1 working day of the relevant event. Victims are also entitled to be informed how often they will receive updates on the status of the case following discussion with the police. Ultimately how much contact to have above that required by the Victims’ Code is an operational matter. In September last year we published the first cross-government Victims Strategy. In the strategy we committed to hold agencies to account for compliance with the Victims’ Code through improved reporting, monitoring and transparency on whether victims are receiving entitlements. This goes hand in hand with amending the Victims’ Code to make sure that the entitlements victims receive are the right ones in the first place. That’s why we also committed to consult on a revised Victims’ Code, and consult on victim focussed legislation. We are planning to publish the consultations over the course of this year.

Prisoners' Transfers

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of prisons ignoring advice from medical professionals that a prisoner be put on medical hold rather than transferred; and what estimate he has made of the number instances of that practice in HMP Preston in the last three years.

Rory Stewart: There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. All prisons in England and Wales are required to maintain the continuity of health care for prisoners, in accordance with Prison Service Order 3050. This can be found at https://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psos. No assessment or estimate has been made by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service in relation to allegations that HMP Preston have disregarded medical advice. However, prisoners are able to raise disputes via local procedures which will be investigated accordingly.

Personal Records: Age

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the age at which a person can change their name by enrolling at the Royal Courts of Justice is different from that at which they can do so by deed poll.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Treasury

Police: Apprentices

Chris Elmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much (a) English and (b) Welsh police services did claim from the apprenticeship levy in 2018.

Elizabeth Truss: Due to taxpayer confidentiality we are unable to publish the amount each institution has received in levy funds. Skills policy is devolved and the devolved administrations will receive a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2016 forecast of revenue from the levy. The Welsh Government will receive £128 million in 2017-18 and £133 million in 2018-19.

Foreign Companies: VAT

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to prevent VAT evasion by overseas companies using internet platforms with fake VAT numbers.

Mel Stride: The government has led the way in tackling this complex and international problem. A package of measures were announced at Budget 2016 to disrupt and deter abuse by some overseas businesses selling goods to UK customers through online marketplaces. This included holding online marketplaces jointly liable for the future unpaid VAT of non-compliant overseas businesses, including where the overseas business uses a fake VAT number. These rules were extended in 2018 to require an online marketplace to display a valid VAT number for businesses on its platform if provided with one. Up to 31 December 2018, HMRC has issued 4,800 notices to online marketplaces notifying them of these non-compliant businesses resulting in their removal from those platforms.

Funerals: Pre-payment

Neil Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what effect the Competition and Market Authority’s proposed extension of the scope of its funeral market investigation to consider the delivery of funeral plans will have on the timing of HM Treasury’s response to its consultation on funeral plan regulation.

Neil Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to publish its response to its consultation on funeral plan regulation, launched in June 2018.

John Glen: HM Treasury has analysed the submissions to the call for evidence on pre-paid funeral plans and is currently reviewing the available policy options.The response to the call for evidence will be published in due course. The Competition and Market Authority’s proposed extension of the scope of its funeral market investigation to consider the delivery of funeral plans has not had an effect on the timing of this response.

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Foreign Nationals

Helen Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the potential revenue to be accrued to the public purse of the (a) proposed non-UK resident stamp duty surcharge rate of one per cent and (b) a three per cent surcharge rate.

Mel Stride: The government is currently consulting on a new Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge of 1% on non-residents buying residential property in England and Northern Ireland. This will help control house price growth, and so help to ensure those resident in the UK can get on the housing ladder. The consultation will last until 6 May and covers all aspects of the surcharge. A costing will be produced once the consultation has closed and the final design of the surcharge has been confirmed. This costing will follow the usual process for analysing the revenue impacts of new tax measures, including being subject to scrutiny from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

VAT: Electronic Publishing

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policy on the rates of value added tax applied to newspapers and periodicals of the Cairncross review recommendation on extending the zero rate of that taxation to digital publications; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT on e-publications. Any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations.

Tax Avoidance

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2019 to Question 203919 on Tax Avoidance, how many promoters of tax avoidance schemes paid HMRC a penalty in 2018.

Mel Stride: A key component of HMRC’s strategy in tackling the promoters of tax avoidance schemes is to change their behaviour so that they stop this activity altogether. HMRC has a range of powers available to it under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS), Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes (POTAS), and the Enablers legislation. Charging penalties is not the only sanction available under these regimes. As a result of HMRC’s concerted action, a number of major promoters have now co-operated with HMRC and have either stopped selling schemes or ceased in business altogether. Those who have failed to comply with their obligations under the DOTAS legislation may face penalties. Fewer than 5 penalties have been charged in 2018. HMRC has challenged a number of promoters under the POTAS regime, since it was introduced in 2014, which were complied with as promoters ceased promoting schemes, but none have yet reached the stage of incurring liability to a penalty. The Enablers legislation was introduced in 2017. It imposes a new penalty of 100% of the gross fees, excluding VAT, for any person who enables the use of tax avoidance arrangements that are defeated by HMRC. It is too early for penalties to have been issued.

Revenue and Customs: Secondment

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC staff are currently on secondment to other Government departments.

Mel Stride: Currently HMRC has 326 members of staff who have moved to other Government Departments for an agreed period of time.

Unpaid Taxes

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many late payment fines HMRC has issued in each year since 2010.

Mel Stride: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Apprentices: Scotland

David Duguid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department next plans to meet with representatives of (a) the Scottish Government and (b) Scottish business to discuss the allocation of funds raised by the apprenticeship levy.

Elizabeth Truss: The Treasury meets with the Scottish Government regularly to discuss matters of mutual interest. The Scottish Government will receive £239 million in 2019-20, which represents a population share of the Apprenticeship Levy forecast. Skills is devolved in Scotland and it is for the Scottish Government to determine how to use this funding.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Government is making on their commitment to remove VAT on sanitary products.

Mel Stride: The Government remains committed to applying a zero rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) to women’s sanitary products in the UK at the earliest opportunity. In January 2018, the European Commission brought forward a legislative proposal to enhance Member States’ flexibility to apply reduced and zero rates of VAT. This proposal remains under discussion in the EU and, if it is agreed by Member States, would give the UK the legal ability to zero rate women’s sanitary products. The Romanian Presidency has stated its intention to progress negotiations on this proposal during its current term.

Infrastructure: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to allocate additional funding for infrastructure in North Herefordshire.

Elizabeth Truss: This government is committed to ensuring that every part of the country has modern and efficient infrastructure, and public investment is set to reach levels not consistently sustained in 40 years. Access to Superfast Broadband in North Herefordshire has risen from 12% to 81% of premises since 2010, supported by the government’s Superfast Broadband programme. The routes around Herefordshire’s Enterprise Zone have received £5 million of investment from the Local Maintenance Highways Challenge Fund. This work has provided improvements to almost 40 miles of road. The new West Midlands Trains rail franchise is due to provide 400 new carriages by 2021. Decisions on future infrastructure funding will be made at the Spending Review.

Local Growth Deals: Borderlands

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2019 to Question 232041, Local Growth Deals: Borderlands, whether specific sums of funding from the Borderlands Growth Deal have been allocated to (a) Carlisle City Council, (b) Cumbria County Council, (c) Dumfries and Galloway Council, (d) Northumberland County Council and (e) Scottish Borders Council.

Elizabeth Truss: The Chancellor announced up to £260 million for the Borderlands Deal at Spring Statement to strengthen the deep ties that bind these communities within the United Kingdom. This innovative deal covers all areas in the Borderlands – Carlisle, Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland, and Scottish Borders. Specific sums have not been allocated for individual councils. We expect local partners to agree projects to be funded with Government, subject to business case approval, as part of a formal heads of terms agreement.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Refugees

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the ability of local authorities to re-house refugees in respect of the notice period refugees are given to vacate premises.

Kit Malthouse: Successful asylum seekers who are granted refugee status are eligible to be allocated social housing and to receive homelessness assistance. Where they apply for social housing, they will have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other eligible applicants in accordance with the local council’s housing allocation scheme.Households moving from Home Office Asylum support comprised 0.2 per cent of new local authority lettings in 2017/18 with less than 200 households.Households with a refugee lead tenant comprised 0.8 per cent of new local authority housing lettings in 2017/18 at less than 700 households.(Source: CORE lettings data 2017/18)

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the provisions of section 8(1) of the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900 had an effect on the (a) Government’s decision to locate the proposed Holocaust Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens and (b) development of plans for the Memorial and Learning Centre.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government decided to locate the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens so that the view of Parliament from the Memorial will serve as a permanent reminder that political decisions have far-reaching consequences. The development of plans will take proper account of relevant legislation and regulations.

Birds: Conservation

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the RSPB and other wildlife charities on the use of nets by developers to prevent birds nesting in trees.

Kit Malthouse: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published routinely on gov.uk and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data

Social Services: Children

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the overspend by local authorities on children’s services spending in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18; and how much additional funding was allocated to children’s services in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17 and (iii) 2017-18.

Rishi Sunak: Government has made available over £200 billion to local authorities across this five-year spending period. Local authorities spent approximately £604 million in 2015-16, £641 million in 2016-17 and £806 million in 2017-18 more on children’s services than they had budgeted for in each of those years. Local government core funding is unringfenced, and councils are responsible for setting their own service budgets according to local priorities. The sector has welcomed this flexibility.

Housing: Students

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that student accomodation is fit for habitation.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department is committed to raising standards in the private rented sector in England. This includes a large proportion of student accommodation. In October 2018 the department extended the criteria for licensing for houses of multiple occupation to bring a further 170,000 properties into the scope of mandatory licensing.The Fitness for Human Habitation Act, which came into force on 20 March, will ensure that all homes are fit for human habitation at the start of a tenancy and throughout. This Act complements the existing regulatory framework and the strong powers that we have already given to local authorities to ensure that standards are met.The department also works closely with Unipol and Universities UK to ensure that purpose-built student accommodation is properly regulated and is underpinned by student accommodation codes.Student accommodation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's findings following its investigation into the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Kit Malthouse: There is nothing more important than ensuring people are safe in their homes and those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy receive the support they need. Over £80 million of Government funding has been committed to support the community, including for rehousing costs and new mental health services. In addition, the NHS has announced £50 million to fund long term health screening and treatment for those affected. The Government is committed to supporting the community in the long term and ensuring those affected get the justice they deserve.

Planning

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the accelerated planning Green Paper.

James Brokenshire: The Department will publish the accelerated planning Green Paper later this year. The paper will discuss how greater capacity and capability, performance management and procedural improvements can accelerate the end-to-end planning process.

Planning: Reform

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 13 March 2018 on Spring Statement, HCWS540, what the timescale is for the Response to consultation on Planning Reform.

James Brokenshire: As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 March 2018, HCWS1408, following consultation on planning reforms to support the high street and increase the delivery of new homes, it is our intention to bring forward a package of permitted development rights. We will publish further information in due course.

Build Out Rates Independent Review

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the Independent Report on Build Out Rates.

James Brokenshire: The Independent Review of Build Out Rates concluded that greater variety in the types, tenures and design of homes delivered on large sites would increase the rate that large sites can be completed. The Government responded to the Review at Spring Statement, on 13 March 2019. The Government's response included an announcement of new planning guidance to further encourage large sites to support a diverse range of housing needs and help them build out more quickly.

Housing: Pensioners

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what housing support his Department provides to people who are of pensionable age.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 224333 on 28 February 2019.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2019 to Question 231479 on Buildings: Insulation, where in regulations issued before the Grenfell Tower fire it is made clear that cladding is considered as a filler material.

Kit Malthouse: Requirement B4 of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010 requires that the external walls of a building shall adequately resist the spread of fire over the walls. This provision has been in place since 1985. The approved document gives guidance on how these requirements may be met. Paragraph 12.5 of Volume 2 of Approved Document B sets out that the external envelope of the building should not provide a medium for fire spread if it is likely to be a risk to health and safety. Paragraph 12.5 also says that the use of combustible materials in the cladding system and extensive cavities may present such a risk in tall buildings. The provisions relating to limited combustibility in paragraph 12.7 of the Approved Document B have, since the version published in 2006, included references to insulation products, filler material etc.

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Foreign Nationals

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a one per cent surcharge on non-UK resident homebuyers on  trends in the level of (a) homelessness and (b) affordable housing provision.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: No assessment has been made on the potential impact of a one per cent surcharge on non-UK resident home buyers on the trends in the level of homelessness or affordable housing provision. This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. Already, this has provided over 1,750 new bed spaces and 500 staff – this means there are more people in warm beds tonight as direct result of government funding.In all, the Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Ministry of Defence

HMS Forth: Costs

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the River Class 2 patrol vessel, HMS Forth (a) at inception and (b) when it was accepted by the Royal Navy.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the estimated build time was for HMS Forth at inception; and whether that ship was delivered on time.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the build of HMS Forth was affected by (a) design problems, (b) technical issues or (c) relationship issues between the Royal Navy, Ministry of Defence and the contractor.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, at inception what the estimated hand over date of HMS Forth was; and when sea trials were expected to commence.

Stuart Andrew: The firm price contract for three River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels awarded to BAE Systems in August 2014 has a value of £378 million. The contract does not separately identify the cost of each of the three ships. Of the contract value, £30 million is for items including trials, spares, testing and Government Furnished Equipment. The value of the contract remains unchanged.At contract award, the estimated build time of HMS Forth was 31 months. Delivery of the ship, in January 2018, was not in accordance with the planned schedule, owing to delays during construction. The build of HMS Forth was not affected by design, technical or relationship issues.At contract award, the planned contract acceptance date for HMS Forth was May 2017. Contractor sea trials were expected to commence two months before contractual acceptance.

Ministry of Defence: Interserve

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the financial sustainability of Ministry of Defence contracts held by Interserve.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As Interserve has stated publicly, their business will continue to operate as normal for customers and suppliers. The operating part of Interserve did not enter administration. As a result the provision of public services (including defence contracts) is expected to continue without disruption.

India: Type 31 Frigates

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals to base the type A31e frigates in India on the economy of (a) the UK and (b) Portsmouth.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for an announcement on where the A31e frigates will be based.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to base the a31 e frigates in Portsmouth.

Stuart Andrew: The base-porting of the Type 31e Frigates has not been decided and a decision will be made in due course. The future Royal Navy will have the ability to deploy flexibly, both independently and in co-operation with our allies, and have the ships, submarines and aircraft to ensure a global presence in support of the UK's diverse diplomatic, security and economic interests around the globe. The Royal Navy is considering the different manning and operating models to deliver this.

Norway: Military Alliances

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the announcement, Royal Marines hone skills in Norway, published on 8 February 2019, what plans his Department has to increase defence cooperation with Norway.

Mark Lancaster: The UK will continue to build on the close defence relationship we have with Norway - bilaterally, as a NATO Ally, and through the UK led Joint Expeditionary Force and the Northern Group. We will continue to co-operate closely on security in the North Atlantic and High North, collaborate on shared capabilities such as P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, and make the most of our training and exercise deployments in Norway by putting in place a 10 year plan for all Royal Marines and Maritime activity in Norway and the High North.

Defence: Innovation

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage innovation by defence suppliers.

Stuart Andrew: With an equipment plan worth £180 billion over 10 years, a rising Defence budget and a Defence Innovation Fund of approximately £800 million, there are great opportunities for innovative suppliers. We have extended the Defence Growth Partnership Innovation Challenge, to address areas such as persistent surveillance, autonomy and big data. With the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Invest Northern Ireland we will also pilot a new Defence Technology Exploitation Programme to help Northern Ireland's vibrant defence Small and Medium - Sized Enterprises to access research and development investment of approximately £1.2 million and develop stronger links and new routes to market through primes and upper tier companies across the UK. Alongside this initiative, the Ministry of Defence's Defence and Security Accelerator is creating a post covering Scotland and Northern Ireland to help companies access its innovation programmes.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances a universal credit claimant will be advised by a work coach to close his or her current application and make a new application; and if she will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 11 March 2019



Comprehensive guidance is available to all staff and is very clear when a claim should be closed. A claim may close for various reasons including an increase in income. Universal Credit is an in and out of work benefit to encourage claimants to move into employment and increase their earnings. Re-claims provides a simple route back onto Universal Credit for claimants who have a short break in entitlement, for example, entering temporary work. Re-claims will allow most claimants who return to Universal Credit within six assessment periods of their previous award ending, to retain their previous Universal Credit assessment period and payment dates, as long as they continue to meet the basic conditions of entitlement.

Employment

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's budget was for its Dynamic Purchasing System for employment in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: The information is not available.The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is used to purchase training provision from a range of providers to help our claimants move into or closer to work. Expenditure through the DPS is part of the overall expenditure incurred through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). Whilst there is a budget for FSF as a whole, the budget is not split into individual areas of expenditure. There is therefore no separately identifiable budget allocation for DPS.

Employment

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which organisations were allocated funding through her Department's Dynamic Purchasing System for employment in each of the last five years; and what the value was of that funding so received for each of those organisations.

Justin Tomlinson: The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is used to purchase training provision from a range of providers to help our claimants move into or closer to work. Expenditure through the DPS is part of the overall expenditure incurred through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). In any given month there would typically be over 2,000 transactions relating to FSF Training, of which a proportion would have been made via the DPS. The Hyperion accounting system used to record transactions does not identify DPS transactions separately. Whilst we could provide total expenditure for each supplier that we have contracted to use DPS with, we cannot easily separate out DPS transactions from other expenditure which may have been incurred with that supplier. A manual interrogation of various other systems would be required in order to provide the information requested, which would incur disproportionate cost. Attached is a list of suppliers who have been awarded Flexible Support Fund DPS call-off contracts from the commencement of the platform in 2016 until 31 December 2018, which was the latest Contracts Finder publication date for contracts valued at over £10K. The values of each awarded contract can be found on contracts finder https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ Contracts valued at below £10K are not published on Contracts Finder and are therefore not in the public domain.

Universal Credit: Disability

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will extend protections to ensure no disabled person receiving a disability premium within employment support allowance has to transition to universal credit via natural migration.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will create a new disability element within the universal credit system to replace the disability premiums available within employment support allowance.

Justin Tomlinson: The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (SDP Gateway) Amendment Regulations 2019 prevents legacy claimants who are in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium from moving to Universal Credit if they experience a change in circumstances, until they are moved by the Department. This ensures that these claimants will not be moved onto Universal Credit until transitional protections are available, thereby safeguarding their existing benefit entitlement. The Severe Disability Premium claimant group has very specific characteristics including substantial care needs, with most having severe disabilities that would limit their ability to work quite significantly. The draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019, which are currently before the House, provide for transitional protections for claimants who are moved onto Universal Credit by the Department, without experiencing a change in circumstances, ensuring no-one loses out at the point of transition. Universal Credit does not replicate the Severe Disability Premium and other disability premiums, which has allowed us to target additional support to a wider group and create a more streamlined system. The right levels of support to eligible Universal Credit claimants can be provided through two rates of payments, reflecting the current ESA components. The Universal Credit rate for the most severely disabled people, the limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA) addition is £328.32 per month, much higher than the equivalent rate for the Employment and Support Allowance support group which is £163.15 per month, and will result in many more people being better off on Universal Credit.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new personal independence payment claimants with epilepsy have had their claim (a) accepted and (b) rejected since April 2013.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new personal independence payment (PIP) claimants with epilepsy have had their PIP decisions overturned in their favour as a result of a mandatory reconsideration since April 2013.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new personal independence payment (PIP) claimants with epilepsy have had their PIP decisions overturned in their favour as a result of an appeal hearing since April 2013.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) New Claims where Epilepsy was listed as a Main Disability in Great Britain can be found in the table below. Table: PIP new claims for claimants with a primary disabling condition of Epilepsy - initial decisions where PIP was awarded or not, and decisions changed/overturned at the Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) or Appeals stage, by financial year of initial decision. All Initial Decisions, of which:Financial year of initial decisionInitial Decisions AllowedInitial Decisions – Disallowed due to failing the assessmentTotalMR – Decision ChangedAppeal – Decision Overturned at Hearing2013/146404101,05050102014/153,2304,3207,5502002802015/161,1104,4405,5501303702016/179904,1905,1701204002017/181,7804,3806,1602704002018/19 (April - December)2,9202,2005,13012030Total Decisions10,67019,94030,6008801,490  Since PIP was introduced 3.9m decisions have been made in Great Britain across all health conditions up to December 2018, of these 10% have been appealed and 5% have been overturned.Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics. The disability subgroup of Epilepsy in the PIP Computer System includes Cataplexy, Generalised seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months), Generalised seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months), Narcolepsy, Partial seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months), Partial seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months) and Seizures - unclassified. In the application process, claimants’ primary disabling condition is only recorded for collation by the Department at assessment.PIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants, and is for new claims only, and therefore excludes DLA reassessment claims.Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.Appeals data taken from the DWP PIP computer system’s management information. Therefore this data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.MR and appeals data include people who were awarded PIP at initial decision. An appeal can only be made against a decision which have gone through the MR process. The number of people who had a decision changed at MR and the number of people who had a decision changed at a tribunal appeal cannot be added together. Claimants who have received benefit decisions more recently may not yet have had time to complete the claimant journey and progress to appeal.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 5 March 2019, Health and Disability Announcement, HCWS1376, what the proposed (a) timescale and (b) location is for the no conditionality test.

Alok Sharma: The Department is finalising the design of the Proof of Concept and seeking input from key representatives from the sector. It is a small scale test which will be run in 2-4 jobcentres. We will use the Proof of Concept to test whether we can increase engagement with claimants through Work Coaches starting at no mandatory requirements and then tailoring conditionality up based on an individual’s circumstances.

Universal Credit

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has (a) made and (b) commissioned on the effect of the roll-out of universal credit on trends in the level of rent arrears for social housing tenants.

Justin Tomlinson: Safeguards are in place for Universal Credit claimants, including Advances, and Alternative Payment Arrangements and claimants already receiving Housing Benefit are paid an additional two weeks of Housing Benefit to support them whilst they transition to monthly payments on Universal Credit. Our work coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview and can refer them to more specialist support for debt advice if required.According to latest figures (November 2018), only about 8% of social rented households were claiming Universal Credit. Many tenants have pre-existing rent arrears at the start of their claim; indications at this stage are that Universal Credit actually helps to clear these arrears over time.We are currently carrying out analysis of this issue with a number of housing providers, to investigate and understand the true level of rent arrears for their tenants, what is causing them and any impacts Universal Credit may be having. This will be published when completed.

Poverty: Children

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) proportion and (b) number of children living in poverty in each year since 2010.

Justin Tomlinson: National statistics on the proportion and number of children in relative and absolute low incomes, before and after housing costs, since 1995, are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. This can be found using the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/692047/children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2016-17-tables.ods

Universal Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to oral evidence taken by the Work and Pensions Select Committee on 27 February 2019, HC 1884, Question 2, what estimate she has made of the number of universal credit claimants who will be financially (a) better off, (b) worse off, and (c) the same following the full roll out of managed migration.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral evidence taken by the Work and Pensions Select Committee on 27 February 2019, HC 1884, Question 2, what estimate she has made of the number of universal credit claimants who have undergone natural migration who are financially (a) better off, (b) worse off and (c) the same relative to legacy benefits.

Alok Sharma: Currently people are only moving to Universal Credit from existing benefits because they have had a significant change in their circumstances which would previously have led them to make a new claim to a different existing benefit. It has always been the case that in such circumstances these new claims would be assessed based upon their new circumstances and under the rules of the new benefit with no recourse to any previous levels of entitlement. Once fully rolled out, Universal Credit is forecast to be £2 billion per year more generous than the legacy system it replaces. We have committed to spending over £3 billion over 10 years on transitional protection for 1.1 million households. This will ensure claimants who the Department moves to Universal Credit from legacy benefits will have their existing benefit entitlement safeguarded at the point of transition.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pesticides: Regulation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold a public consultation on changes to the (a) guidance and (b) principles related to the regulation of pesticides in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

David Rutley: If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, any future changes would follow the Cabinet Office guidance on consultation principles. This would entail public consultation if a substantive policy change was proposed. Changes to guidance could conceivably have significant or very minor effects, so a judgement would be needed if public consultation was warranted based on the specific circumstances.

Expert Committee On Pesticides

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will increase the (a) capacity and (b) operating budget of the Expert Committee on Pesticides in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to include independent scientific advice within the authorisation process for active substances used in plant protection products in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

David Rutley: The Plant Protection Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 will ensure the plant protection products regime can operate in a national context, if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement. These Regulations contain provisions enabling the UK competent authorities to take independent scientific advice, in areas where this was previously provided by the European Food Safety Authority in the EU regime. This includes the ability to seek independent scientific advice as part of the process for approving active substances used in plant protection products. Independent scientific advice would be sought from Defra’s existing Expert Committee on Pesticides from the day we leave the EU, and we would continue to build on these arrangements in the future. We have been working closely with the Expert Committee on Pesticides and its secretariat within the Health and Safety Executive to assess the Committee’s capacity in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal and to ensure that plans are in place to enable it to access both the scientific advise and resourcing it would need to deliver this expanded role.

Pesticides: Regulation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the UK's future pesticide regime will provide equal levels of accountability and scrutiny to the EU pesticide regime in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that renewals for approvals of (a) active substances used in plant protection products and (b) plant protection products cannot be extended indefinitely by the relevant public bodies in the event that UK leaves the EU.

David Rutley: If the UK leaves the EU without an agreement, the Government will retain the current EU regulations on plant protection products with only such changes as are required so that the regime can operate sensibly in a national context. Ministers will be more accountable for decision making than at present as this will be their direct responsibility (along with the devolved administrations), rather than being subject to voting by all EU Member States. There will also continue to be effective scrutiny. For example, there will be a formal public consultation process on each active substance with full supporting documentation such as the draft assessment report published, in the same way as there is under the EU regime. In addition to our national regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), we have put arrangements in place to ensure that we have access to independent scientific advice from exit day from the Expert Committee on Pesticides and we will continue to build on these arrangements in future. HSE will publish its assessment reports online (less any confidential data). The Expert Committee on Pesticides also routinely publishes its minutes online so its advice will be open and transparent. The powers to extend active substance approvals and product authorisations will be retained and repatriated to national level, with no changes to the provisions setting out how they can be used. These powers will therefore continue to be available under the national regime to be used where necessary, as the European Commission has done routinely under the current EU regime. It would clearly be inappropriate to attempt to extend approvals and authorisations indefinitely.

Shellfish: Animal Welfare

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the sentience of decapod crustaceans and (b) their capability to feel pain; whether decapod crustaceans are included in the definition of animal in the draft sentience Bill; and when he plans to publish the Farm Animal Welfare Council investigation into decapod crustacean sentience.

David Rutley: The Government is aware of research in relation to the sentience of decapod crustaceans and their ability to feel pain. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders to further refine the Government’s proposals on animal sentience, including which animals are covered by those proposals. The Farm Animal Welfare Committee’s advice on the definition of sentience will be published soon.

Marine Protected Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of enforcing marine protected areas per sq km in (a) the UK and (b) UK overseas territories in each of the last four years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: a) We do not currently hold the requested data, however, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) estimates compliance costs for each Marine Protected Area (MPA) byelaw it makes. These estimates are documented in the impact assessment (IA) accompanying each byelaw, which are available on GOV.UK. These estimates include compliance activity such as monitoring and boardings to detect and deter offences, but do not include costs related to any prosecutions for offences committed. These figures relate to England only. There are additional costs arising from the enforcement of Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCA) byelaws but these are not currently centrally compiled. b) Under the Blue Belt programme, £2 million per year over the past 4 years has been allocated to the MMO to support surveillance and enforcement of designated MPAs, and to support the development of legal frameworks and surveillance and enforcement strategies for further MPA designations.At the start of the Blue Belt programme, there was 2.5 million km² of MPAs around the UK overseas territories and by 2020, there will be over 4 million km². Additional funding support for enforcement of Pitcairn Island was provided by Pew Charitable Trusts during years 2015-present.

Flood Control: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of flood defences in the West Midlands.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) and its partner Risk Management Authorities continually assess the adequacy of flood defences across the West Midlands. This includes developing future schemes, maintaining existing assets and operating equipment in response to current flood risk. The EA asset maintenance programme covers over 3,600 assets in the West Midlands, including barriers, embankments, trash screens and pumps. These assets are all maintained on an annual cycle to ensure their good condition and operational effectiveness at the cost of £3.2 million for 2018/19. 16,906 inspections have been completed on these assets so far in the financial year 2018/19. As part of the planning and development of new schemes, the EA oversees a programme to efficiently fund, design and build schemes. This currently includes investigating the potential for flood schemes at Binley Road and The Riddings, Earlsdon, in Coventry. Many assets, equipment and staff are currently in operation at numerous locations across the West Midlands protecting communities and the wider economy from the impacts of flooding.

Air Pollution

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using large-scale hydrogen conversion projects to deliver improvements in air quality.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This question concerns both energy and air quality. Defra is the Government Department with policy responsibility for air quality and energy policy is within the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We are working across Government to ensure future electricity, heat and industrial policies will together improve air quality and tackle climate change. Phasing out coal-fired power stations, improving energy efficiency, and shifting to cleaner power sources will reduce emissions of air pollution, as well as carbon. As we phase out oil and coal heating, we will ensure this transition improves air quality wherever possible and cost-effective to do so. Although Defra is unable to comment on hydrogen specifically, as part of our cross-departmental review into the role of biomass for heat and power, we have established a framework of principles and processes to ensure air quality is considered at the outset of policy development and appropriate tools and evidence are used to assess the impact on public health.

Plastics: Waste

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the gasification of plastic waste.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra has not carried out such an assessment but liaises with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on its work to determine all the potential benefits from gasification and pyrolysis of waste, including plastics. The Government is committed to improving the recovery of value from residual waste and encourages the development of innovative, emerging technologies to help divert waste from landfill providing they do not compete with greater recycling, reuse and prevention. We recognise the potential that these technologies can have in the decarbonisation of several sectors such as heat and transport.

Air Pollution

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the average reading for an air quality sample in (a) the UK, (b) Hampshire and (c) Portsmouth.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average air quality sample reading was in Portsmouth in (a) 2003 and (b) 2018.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra’s national network of air quality monitors currently comprises 272 sites across the UK and is managed by the Environment Agency. Sites are organised into networks that gather information for a wide range of pollutants in towns, cities as well as in rural areas. Some monitoring sites are focused on measuring specific sources – e.g. road traffic or industry whilst others are focused on background concentrations. All monitoring data is made available on our UK-AIR website. Data from the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) is reported in near-real-time and is updated every hour. The website URL is: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/. In addition, National Statistics are produced annually which analyse trends and levels of air pollution for the UK AURN. The website URL is: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics. On the AURN there are 5 sites within Hampshire (including Southampton and Portsmouth) and 2 sites in Portsmouth. The annual statistics tool on UK-AIR can be used to determine annual mean concentrations of the measured air pollutants. In addition, local authorities submit their monitoring data and local actions to Defra in their Annual Status Reports. This is a requirement under the Local Air Quality Management process, underpinned by the Environment Act 1995. Annual mean concentrations of air pollutants in 2003 and 2018 from the Portsmouth sites on the AURN are shown in the table below: AURN SitePollutantYearAnnual Mean Concentration (µg/m3)PortsmouthNitrogen dioxide200326PortsmouthNitrogen dioxide201819PortsmouthPM10200324Portsmouth Anglesea RoadNitrogen dioxide201831Portsmouth Anglesea RoadPM10201819

Clean Air Zones

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, under what circumstances the Government can impose clean air zone on local authorities.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is a devolved matter and the below information relates to England only. Local authorities already have the power to create clean air zones. The Government is working closely with those English local authorities where exceedances have been identified to introduce measures to bring forward compliance with nitrogen dioxide limits as soon as possible. The Government will assess local authority plans to make sure they are effective, fair, good value and will deliver the required improvements in air quality in the shortest time possible. If local plans do not meet that test, the Government will reject the plans and require authorities to take action to achieve legal compliance, which could include a clean air zone.

Home Office

Airports: Vetting

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's policy is on the mutual recognition approach to airport staff screening as discussed at the Transatlantic Aviation Security Industry Roundtable in 2018.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Transatlantic Aviation Security Industry Roundtable was convened to further strengthen dialogue between the US and UK on enhancing aviation security and alongside other issues discussed measures to mitigate the Insider threat and staff screeningThe UK has consistently advocated, in the International Civil Aviation Organization and in other forums, a global approach to tackling insider threat at airports based on 100% screening of staff, randomness and unpredictability as part of that screening, and background checks of staff working in secure areas or with access to sensitive security information.

Schools: Staff

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of safer schools officers in each year since 2015.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the information requested centrally.

Criminal Investigation

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of those released under investigation by the police in the last 12 months for which figures are available had no case brought against them.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were released under investigation by the police in the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available by each police authority.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a person who has been released under investigation to be contacted by an investigating officer.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.The timely and effective management of investigations is an operational matter for the police. The Home Office continues to work with partners across the criminal justice system, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure that all investigations are conducted effectively and in a timely fashion.From April 2017, the Home Office requested information on a voluntary basis from police forces on the number of individuals released on pre-charge bail following arrest, broken down by bail length.This data collection has been published (as an Annex) within the ‘Police powers and procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, based on data received from 17 forces for the 2017/18 financial period. These figures give an indicative picture only and should be treated with caution – they have been designated as ‘Experimental Statistics’, to acknowledge further development will take place in the future. They can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2018

Bail: Monitoring

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are in place to monitor compliance with bail conditions.

Mr Nick Hurd: The monitoring of compliance with pre-charge bail conditions is an operational matter for the police, taking into account the circumstances surrounding individual cases.The Home Office will continue to work with partners across the criminal justice system on matters related to pre-charge bail. The National Police Chiefs’ Council are leading work to ensure the proportionate and effective imposition and management of pre-charge bail and released under investigation.

Stop and Search: Impact Assessments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department (a) has conducted or (b) plans to conduct an equality impact assessment on the proposal to increase police stop and search powers.

Mr Nick Hurd: Stop and search is a vital policing tool when used correctly and officers have the Government's full support to use these powers in a way that is fair, lawful and effective. We are looking at ways to work with the police to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency in the use of this power. Policy decisions will of course consider equalities issues.

Independent Child Trafficking Advocates Service

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s Interim Assessment of the first year of the Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTA) service, what assessment he has made of the merits of expanding the ICTA scheme to all unaccompanied and separated children.

Victoria Atkins: The ICTA service was rolled out in three early adopter sites in Greater Manchester, Hampshire and Wales in January 2017 with an additional £2m invested to expand the ICTA provision into West Midlands, East Midlands and Croydon. This will mean the service will be available in one third of all local authorities by April 2019.Unaccompanied children are looked after by the relevant local authority and are entitled to the same services as any other looked after child. Under these arrangements, unaccompanied children will have a professional social worker and an independent reviewing officer to oversee their care arrangements. All unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England are referred to the Refugee Council’s Children’s Panel and they are also entitled to legal assistance in pursuing their asylum claim. The Government believes that these arrangements ensure unaccompanied children are provided with the independent and tailored support and advice that they need.Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which makes provisions for ICTAs, is being considered in the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act led by Frank Field MP, Baroness Butler-Sloss and Maria Miller MP. The Government will carefully consider their recommendations, including any recommendations for the national rollout of ICTAs.

Members: Correspondence

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Home Office plans to respond to the enquiry of 30 January 2019 to UKVI from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central, on behalf of her constituent Mr James Doherty.

Caroline Nokes: A response to your enquiry was sent out on the 15th March 2019.

Visas: Overseas Students

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prospective PhD students were (a) granted and (b) refused a visa to study in the UK in each year for which data is available.

Caroline Nokes: The available information relates to total Tier 4 visas granted and refused, published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics, Visas volume 1, table vi_01_q, latest edition at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2018/list-of-tables#visas.For the calendar year 2018, 98% of cases were granted.Corresponding information relating to the level of course is not available from centrally collated statistical databases.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to ensure the EU Settlement Scheme is accessible to children of EU nationals living (a) in care and (b) with vulnerable families.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office has put in place a comprehensive vulnerability strategy to ensure that the EU Settlement Scheme is accessible for all, including children in care. A user group of external stakeholders who represent the needs of vulnerable individuals has been established to work with the Home Office to understand relevant risks and issues and to ensure the right support arrangements are in place for applicants. We are also engaging with relevant stakeholders such as the Department for Education, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services to assess the needs of this group and ensure they are met. a) The Department for Education (DfE) and Home Office have agreed that local authorities in England will need to ensure that applications for the scheme are made on behalf of all looked after children who are EU citizens and for whom they have parental responsibility.For children accommodated by the local authority under section 20 of the Children Act 1989: Local authorities will raise awareness of the Settlement Scheme to those with parental responsibility for eligible child(ren), provide practical support where needed, or signpost to relevant community support where this is deemed more appropriate.This process has also been agreed for children in care in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. b) The Home Office has announced grant funding of up to £9 million for voluntary and community sector organisation to support vulnerable EU citizens who might need additional help when applying for the Settlement Scheme. Specific guidance and resources for local authorities and community leaders is being produced to inform vulnerable groups about the application process and the need to apply.

Members: Correspondence

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letters of the Hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham of 13 August 2018, 17 September 2018 and 4 March 2019 on the visa application of constituent Mr H.W.P of Lancing, West Sussex.

Caroline Nokes: A response to your enquiry was sent on 20th March 2019.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Sharing Economy

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the of the implications for her policies of the report entitled, Networked but Commodified: The (Dis)Embeddedness of Digital Labour in the Gig Economy, published in the journal Sociology in February 2019.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is actively supporting global efforts to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks from the gig economy. Through the Responsible, Accountable and Transparent Enterprise Programme (RATE), DFID supports the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and its response to the changing nature of work and the rise of digital platforms. We also support social protection programmes – central to the protection of workers in the gig economy – in 23 countries.DFID is working closely with DWP to influence a proposed International Labour Organisation (ILO) Centenary Declaration. The Declaration will set the strategic direction for the ILO in the context of the future of work. We are pushing to ensure that the ILO addresses job quality issues in the changing world of work.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the amount the UK would pay to the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mr Robin Walker: As part of the Withdrawal Agreement, we have reached a fair financial settlement with the EU, honouring commitments we made during our period of membership, and ensuring a fair deal for UK taxpayers. In the event that we leave the EU without a deal, the financial settlement as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement would no longer apply. The Government recognises that the UK has obligations to the EU, and the EU obligations to the UK, that will survive the UK’s withdrawal—and that these need to be resolved. But in a no deal scenario we would need to determine how to do so.

Department for International Trade

Foreign Investment in UK: Technology

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of foreign direct investment in the UK tech sector.

Graham Stuart: The latest release showed the UK’s tech sector attracted more venture capital investment than anywhere else in Europe, with £6.3bn ($7.9bn) in funding from investors in 2018. This is ahead of Germany, France and Israel. This is yet more evidence of the UK’s continued attractiveness to investors across the globe The government continues to support the tech sector. Through the AI Sector Deal, launched last Spring, the government is actively supporting the development of talent, nationwide, to ensure this position is maintained and enhanced in the years to come. Investment in the AI business has exceeded £3.8 billion and continues to grow.

Overseas Investment: China

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to help companies in the UK to take advantage of the recent decision by the Chinese Government to introduce it's foreign investment law.

Graham Stuart: We welcome the direction and messages in China’s Foreign Investment Law and look forward to seeing robust regulations giving improved protection for foreign IP, technology and access to procurement.The Government, through our overseas network, HM Trade Commissioner, and through Ministerial visits, works actively to engage with China’s central and regional governments and businesses, to support trade and reduce barriers for UK companies looking to export to and invest in China,.For example, in the past year we have secured market access improvements benefitting a range of UK industries, including the removal of the BSE ban on British beef, raising foreign equity caps in petrol stations and improved access for British dairy. Additionally, at the China International Import Exposition (CIIE) in Shanghai in November 2018, the UK showcased the best in British innovation, gaining significant media attention in China. UK firms secured more than £2 billion of commercial deals across a range of sectors including creative industries, healthcare, education, energy, mining and aviation.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Lotteries: Charities

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of unrestricted funding grants delivered to charities by charity lotteries.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the complementary benefits of funding from both charity lotteries and the National Lottery to charities.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the benefits delivered to local charities by charity lotteries.

Mims Davies: Funding from lotteries represents a relatively small proportion of overall charity sector income. However, for some charities, lottery funding can be a vital source of income. In 2017/18 good cause returns from the National Lottery were £1.6 billion and large society lotteries raised £296 million for good causes. Many charities are licensed to run their own lotteries as a fundraising tool, which directly supports their charitable initiatives. Society Lotteries usually provide unrestricted funding which can be particularly beneficial for charities as it enables the charity to determine how to use the funding to best deliver its aims and support its beneficiaries. Society lotteries and the National Lottery complement each other as they have different strategic priorities and support a range of different charities within the sector.

Lotteries: Charities

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of potential merits for his policies of the Gambling Commission’s recent findings that 55 per cent of charity lottery players do so in order to support good causes in contrast to only 15 per cent of National Lottery players and 5 per cent of scratchcard players.

Mims Davies: The Gambling Commission’s recent findings highlight one of the key differences between the National Lottery and society lotteries with the National Lottery characterised by high life-changing prizes and society lotteries characterised by smaller prizes and linked to a dedicated charity or good cause such as a local hospice or air ambulance. We are currently consulting on potential changes to society lottery sales and prize limits and will consider the Gambling Commission’s findings as part of our response. In addition, we are working with National Lottery good cause distributors and Camelot to increase players’ understanding of the good causes that benefit from the National Lottery.

Lotteries: Charities

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government’s rationale is for having a limit on the annual sales of charity lotteries.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the charity lottery sector is the only type of charity fundraising which has limits imposed on its fundraising.

Mims Davies: Society lotteries are gambling products with the primary purpose of raising money for good causes. They operate under a legal framework with limits on the size of individual draws, the annual receipts and the size of the prize on offer. All large society lotteries are regulated as gambling products, and as such are regulated by the Gambling Commission. They are permitted by Government, which recognises the benefits they bring to society throughout the country, and are seen as an important fundraising tool.

Citizens' Juries

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many of the eight bids selected by his Department's Innovation in Democracy programme will proceed.

Mims Davies: The Innovation in Democracy Programme is an important part of the Civil Society Strategy announced last year. The successful pilot locations will be announced in due course.

Members: Correspondence

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contributions of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 23 January 2019, Official report, columns 209WH and 210WH, when he plans to (a) respond to the letter of 30 December 2018 from and (b) meet with hon. Members on establishing a Town of Culture Award.

Michael Ellis: A letter was sent to the Rt Hon Member on 21st February. As I stated in the letter, I am happy to meet with Members on this issue.

Third Sector

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 60 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy, published August 2018, what steps his Department has taken to work with Big Society Capital and others to develop new models of community funding.

Mims Davies: The Civil Society Strategy is long term, setting out our vision for government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. As we said in the Strategy, we believe there is a need for long-term, sustained relationships between communities and investors, with local funding that meets the specific investment requirements of the community, develops local resilience, and has the ability to attract private capital at scale. Big Society Capital and Access (The Foundation for Social Investment) are devoting around £35 million funding to initiating this effort and have been working with national and local funders and civil society organisations to prepare for the launch of “Local Access”, a new programme designed to build the resilience of local charities and social enterprises in around 5 local areas, which will be identified over the coming months. The programme will run for up to 10 years and will provide long term support and investment to launch and grow enterprise ideas, with funding largely devolved to local partnerships.

Sports: Females

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to encourage female participation in team sports at (a) amateur and (b) professional level.

Mims Davies: The fantastic performances at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, the UEFA Women’s Euros, World Athletics Championships, Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games among others, have been truly inspirational. It is vital we build on these successes at the grassroots and elite levels. This government supports some fantastic initiatives that encourage women to take up sport and physical activity at the grassroots level. For example Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign which promotes team sports such as rugby, basketball and goalball. Sport England have also committed around £85 million into the England talent system and currently fund England Talent Pathways in 43 sports (including team sports). In August 2018 Sport England published their Talent Plan in which they committed to working with new partners to identify and develop talent from under-represented groups in other environments or locations.

Sports Competitors: Mental Health

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to assess the effect of concussion on athletes’ mental health.

Mims Davies: The 2015 government sport strategy, Sporting Future highlighted the importance of welfare and well-being in sport. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thomson’s subsequent Duty of Care report, published in April 2017 made recommendations around the treatment of concussion and the duties that national governing bodies have regarding athletes’ physical and mental health. Sport National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sport and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm, including serious injuries. In March 2018 DCMS published a mental health and elite sport action plan which sets out some key areas for further work around the clarity of support available, sharing of best practice across the sport sector and improved mental health education and training in sport.

Wales Office

Trade Unions: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2019 to Question 232038, how many of his Department's meetings with trade unions in Wales were in relation to the UK leaving the EU; and what steps he has taken to consult with trade unions in Wales on the UK leaving the EU since 2016.

Alun Cairns: One of my two roundtable meetings was directly related to the UK leaving the EU. I am fully committed to an ongoing dialogue with trades unions in Wales on matters relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Northern Ireland Office

Women's Rights: Northern Ireland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the report entitled, Women in Northern Ireland, UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Shadow Report, published by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in January 2019, what plans she has to increase women’s rights through increased access to family planning services.

Karen Bradley: The Government recognises the sensitivities of these issues and the strongly held views of stakeholders on all sides of the debate. The Government takes its obligations under the Convention seriously, including having had positive dialogues with the UN CEDAW Committee very recently, and carefully considering the contribution civil society groups and statutory agencies make to the process. Given these issues are devolved, it is the Government's preference that any changes to the provision of healthcare, including in relation to abortion law in Northern Ireland, are addressed by a restored Executive and Assembly.

Women and Equalities

Sanitary Protection

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on providing sanitary products free of charge in community health centres.

Victoria Atkins: The Minister for Women and Equalities has had discussions on ending period poverty and stigma with a number of Ministerial colleagues including the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention. A new government-backed Taskforce on Period Poverty was announced by the Minister for Women and Equalities on 4th March to build on existing initiatives and develop ideas for a comprehensive, sustainable response in the UK. It will convene the public, private and third sectors, including representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and grassroots organisations.

Family Planning: Northern Ireland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the report entitled, Women in Northern Ireland, UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Shadow Report,published by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in January 2019, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on increase women's access to family planning services.

Victoria Atkins: The Government recognises the sensitivities of abortion law and the strongly held views of stakeholders on all sides of the debate.The Minister for Women and Equalities recently gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee inquiry into abortion law in Northern Ireland, alongside the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Minister for Women and Equalities said she was aware of the cases where women are not getting access to information about relevant services, including the travel scheme to enable women normally resident in Northern Ireland to access abortion services in England.Since their joint evidence session, the Minister for Women and Equalities has written to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the issues.

Candidates: Disability

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what support will be available for disabled candidates standing for upcoming parliamentary elections.

Victoria Atkins: The Government Equalities Office launched the £250,000 EnAble Fund in December 2018, which provides grants to help cover disability-related expenses people might face when seeking elected office, to ensure support is in place for the forthcoming local elections in May. Furthermore, the Minister for the Constitution has recently passed legislation to exclude disability-related expenses from candidates’ spending limits.

Candidates: Disability

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to promote the EnAble Fund for Elected Office and ensure aspiring candidates are aware of their rights.

Victoria Atkins: The Government Equalities Office has been promoting the EnAble Fund for Elected Office through our communications channels and stakeholders, including political parties and disability organisations.We have also worked with the Electoral Commission to ensure the Fund is included in their guidance for May’s local elections.

Parental Leave

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on increasing the viability of Shared Parental Leave to parents.

Victoria Atkins: We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions, as part of our forthcoming strategy on gender equality and economic empowerment, to understand what more can be done to support parents to take Shared Parental Leave. The Government is currently evaluating the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme - this will look at take-up rates, barriers to take-up and how the scheme is being used in practice. We expect to be in a position to report findings later this year. The ‘Share the Joy’ communications campaign, jointly funded by the Government Equalities Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is currently promoting Shared Parental Leave to eligible parents and is supported by tools and guidance for parents.